Anthony Davis has been rewriting the history books this year at Kentucky. Anchoring a team loaded with superstars, he has managed to stand out as the phenom. He’s gone from a physical anomaly who’s game was questioned and thought to be incomplete, to the most imposing figure in college basketball. Whether the ball is in his hands, in the air, or in the hands of the person he is defending, Anthony Davis makes plays.
John Calipari is no stranger to phenomenal talent. Marcus Camby, Tyreke Evans, Derrick Rose, John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, the list goes on…Cal has coached the #1 pick in the NBA Draft twice since 2008, and will likely see Anthony Davis go first as well.
Davis is the greatest of any talent John Calipari has ever coached. He’s the greatest talent college basketball has seen in at least 10 years, and I’m thinking more like about 20. The only exception I would offer is Dwayne Wade (and I know UK fans can attest to what Wade can do).
You’d have to go back to Tim Duncan to get a comparable stat line, and I’m talking about Tim Duncan’s 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] or 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] year in college, not his first.
Lets take a look at what some of the great big men like Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’neal, Alonzo Mourning, and Tim Duncan did in their first years in college.
Patrick Ewing [B]MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG[/B]
81-82 Georgetown 28.8 63.1 61.7 7.5 0.6 2.0 3.2 1.1 12.7
David Robinson[B] MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG[/B]
83-84 Navy 13.3 62.3 57.5 4.0 0.2 1.1 1.3 0.2 7.6
Alonzo Mourning[B] MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG[/B]
88-89 Georgetown 28.3 60.3 25.0 66.7 7.3 0.7 2.0 5.0 0.4 13.1
Shaquille O’neal[B] MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG[/B]
89-90 LSU 28.2 57.3 0.0 55.6 12.0 1.9 2.9 3.6 1.2 13.9
Tim Duncan[B] MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG[/B]
93-94 WakeForest 30.2 54.5 100.0 74.5 9.6 0.9 1.2 3.8 0.4 9.8
Marcus Camby [B]MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG[/B]
93-94 UMass 21.9 49.4 0.0 59.6 6.4 1.2 1.7 3.6 0.6 10.2
Anthony Davis [B]MIN FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG TPG BPG SPG PPG[/B]
11-12 Kentucky 31 65.5 0.0 69.9 9.7 0.9 0.9 4.8 1.4 13.9
[I]*Stats compiled from databasebasketball.com and ukathletics.com[/I]
Now, Davis definitely plays in a different era of college ball than any of these guys did but, in comparable minutes, Davis is outdoing just about everyone on the list in just about every category.
Outside of the stats, if you look at the impact each of these guys had on the college game in their time, the only one who Davis is similar to is Patrick Ewing.
Patrick was one of the most highly touted recruits ever coming out high school, and one of the first college players to star as a freshman.
To follow that comparison, Patrick’s counterpart in college was Michael Jordan, who’s Tarheels took the National Title from Ewing and the Hoyas.
Davis’ counterpart this year is Thomas Robinson, who is no collegiate Michael Jordan.
See what I’m saying?
What I’m saying is Anthony Davis is not the player of the year, he is the greatest college player in 20 years.
Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson, that’s no comparison. Davis and Marcus Camby is a hollow comparison itself. But Anthony Davis and Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’neal, or Alonzo Mourning, now that is a comparison, also known as a Jon Rothstein.
