Reactions to Wisconsin Basketball’s Johnny Davis being drafted by Wizards
By Lucas Valind
Thursday was a night of celebration for former Wisconsin Basketball star Johnny Davis, as his dreams were realized during the 2022 NBA Draft.
After a stellar sophomore season at Wisconsin, Davis was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 10th pick in the draft. Davis is the first former Badger selected in the first round since both Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker were selected in the first round in 2015, and the first Badger selected in the lottery since Kaminsky.
Reactions to former Wisconsin Basketball star Johnny Davis being drafted by Washington Wizards
The knock on Wisconsin Basketball over the years has been that they’ve failed to develop talent. After Davis’ miraculous development between his freshman and sophomore seasons to become an NBA talent, it may be time to reconsider those claims. Davis is coming off of a season that landed him awards such as First-team All-American, First-team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Player of the Year, and more.
Davis going to Washington should not be surprising, as he was linked there in some mock drafts leading up to draft night. Washington was in need of a player that could play alongside Bradley Beal, and the selection of Davis makes sense to fit that need.
In Davis, Washington gets a competitor. Davis showed off his will to win numerous times throughout his sophomore season with the Badgers, consistently taking over games late offensively to will Wisconsin to victory. Davis also is competitive on the defensive side, being willing to take on the challenge of guarding the opponent’s best players. Davis takes every matchup personally and always wants to come out on top.
Davis has the ability to score on all levels of the floor. Versatility is one of the greatest strengths that a player can have in today’s NBA, so it’s great that Davis will already have that as he joins the NBA family.
His three-point shot can be a little inconsistent at times, but with his touch and willingness to work, that should only be expected to get better. During his freshman season, Davis shot the three at 38.9 percent. However, during his sophomore season, that number dropped magnificently to only 30.6 percent.
The drop in his percentages between his freshman and sophomore seasons can simply be attributed to teams showing more attention to Davis on the defensive end. As Davis grew and became a star, he became tightly contested and could force shots at times, causing the percentages to fall. You’ll live with that though, because he’s only forcing those shots because of his will to win.
There really shouldn’t be too much of a concern with the percentages with Davis playing along with Beal. Beal will take some of the pressure off of Davis, and he shouldn’t have to worry about such tight contests as a result.
For Washington, they have to be thrilled with who they’re getting in Johnny Davis. Wisconsin Basketball fans were lucky to have the opportunity to watch Davis over the last two seasons and see his growth. The Wizards are hopeful that he’ll be able to grow just as much as he makes the leap to the next level.