Wisconsin Basketball: Johnny Davis goes 7th in ESPN Mock Draft

It has been a few years since Wisconsin Basketball has had a household name in college basketball. One would have to go back to 2015 to even find the last player from Wisconsin that got drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. That trend appears to be close to ending, thanks to superstar Johnny Davis.

Wisconsin Basketball’s Johnny Davis is projected to go 7th overall in the latest ESPN Mock Draft.

At the beginning of the season, Johnny Davis snuck up on a lot of people. While Badgers fans certainly knew about Davis after watching him last season, he was not a name that was usually recognized nationally.

Many college basketball fans now know Davis as one of the best players in college basketball, and NBA fans will know his name too. Davis is projected to be taken 7th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft in the latest ESPN Mock Draft.

Davis began the 2021-2022 season on fire, and that’s when Badgers fans started to realize that him leaving for the NBA after this season would be a real possibility. Even though Davis does still have the option to return to Wisconsin if he so chooses to next season, it would be hard to blame him if he wants to take his game to the next level as soon as he possibly can.

This season, Davis has shown that he has all of the tools to become a key player in the NBA. It’s no surprise to see that his draft stock has risen significantly over the last few months due to his skillset.

Probably the only reason why Davis falls out of the top-5 in this draft is because of his ball-handling. His ball-handling isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s not quite as good as some of the other players at his position. That area of his game will have plenty of time to grow, as Davis will only be 20 years old by the time of the NBA Draft this summer. Even with his ball-handling needing some patching up, every other part of Davis’ game is already NBA ready, and that’s why he is seen as such an exciting prospect.

There are few players that bring what Davis does to both sides of the game. Everybody has seen Davis have some offensive explosions in games this year, but that should not be a distraction from what Davis brings defensively. Davis has the lateral quickness to stay with his man and the athleticism to rise up to have good contests on shots. In addition to that, Davis has a knack for the boards and averages 8.3 rebounds per game, which is a great number for a player of his size.

One of the truly undervalued things about Davis is how he is not easily bothered by the crowds of opposing teams. Being able to play in hostile environments is a skill that will be useful for Davis when he decides to make the jump to the next level.

Davis has actually played some of his best basketball this season when the Badgers have been away from the Kohl Center. The best game of the season for Davis this year came at Mackey Arena, a place where Wisconsin has historically struggled. Davis scored 37 points and made huge plays all game to help the Badgers finally get over the hump at Purdue.

He again stepped up on the road against Indiana, scoring the team’s last 13 points and willing them to victory at Assembly Hall. Playing your best ball on the road is something that even some NBA players struggle with, so Davis already having that skill before entering the league is a good sign.

Johnny Davis is the best player that Wisconsin Basketball has had in a long time. For the fans, it may be a little difficult to say goodbye to Davis so soon. His father has said in the past that Davis has a goal of being picked in the top 5 of the draft, so maybe we have a very small grain of hope that he may return.

Davis hopefully still has a lot of season left, with the month of March right around the corner. He has all of the skills he needs to be a successful NBA player. He will have an abundance of opportunities to prove that to NBA scouts and increase his draft stock if he can perform in the bright lights of March.