by Cougarbib · 4/14/2013
BYU's Brandon Davies has thus far been the most productive player in the field, turning in another strong game with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting to go with 12 rebounds and three assists as K&D Round's Landscaping defeated Portsmouth Partnership 82-79 in the opening game of Friday night's evening session. Belmont's Ian Clark added 15 points, while Central Florida's Keith Clanton finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Everything has been going right for Davies this week. He's scored on a variety of moves in the post. He's rebounded at a high clip. He's shown the ability to make difficult passes in traffic. He even won the battle with the tape measure, checking in 6-foot-8 ½ in bare feet. Davies didn't have a whole lot of buzz coming into the tournament, despite turning in an excellent senior season, and you almost have to wonder he isn't higher on the list of seniors available in this year's draft. If nothing else, he's forced teams to take a much closer look.
byucougar1 wrote:http://byucougars.com/m-basketball/davies-named-mvp-leads-team-title-portsmouth-invite
While Davies brought some of the trouble upon himself with the fouls - a lot of times it was a result of his attempt to make up for deficiencies of others. When surrounded by a compliment of talented players, he can shine. NBA is perfect for him as he will have an opportunity to apply his team first attitude and low post skill set - key is getting selected by the right team (hopefully where there is a need for some big men).
An informal poll conducted among a small gathering of scouts who were asked to fill out their MVP ballots with about four minutes left in the game yielded only one name -- and for good reason. Davies averaged 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds; he shot 68 percent from the field (25-for-37); and his team won the tournament. It was one of the more emphatic slam dunk MVP votes in recent PIT history.
But, it was also the way he did it. He scored with quick and decisive moves in the post. He grabbed key rebounds. Perhaps the best part of his game was his unselfishness, as he routinely drew defenders in the lane and dumped the ball to his teammates for easy scores. Davies brought the full arsenal to Portsmouth, and left town having greatly enhanced his draft status. Even if he struck out on draft night, as it's never the 60 best players who get picked, Davies tossed up a body of work this week that won't soon be forgotten by NBA teams already looking at options for summer league and training camp.
