For Alabama Basketball, J.D. Davison is Heating Up at Just the Right Time
Have you ever received encouraging words from a friend or mentor that changed your approach to a situation or a problem? Have you ever been going through a difficult time, then suddenly receive some much-needed words of wisdom that helped change your mindset and ultimately helped you get out of that struggle?
For Alabama basketball freshman guard J.D. Davison, those words came from his coach.
Heading into the Crimson Tide's fourth game of the season last Friday, Davison had failed to make as large of an impact on the court as most fans had expected of him. While he started off the season with a decent 12 points and six rebounds against Louisiana Tech, Davison's progress slowed to a crawl over Alabama's next two games against South Dakota State and South Alabama.
While there were some fans that were disappointed in Davison's slow start, there was no harsher critic than himself. Between the games against the Jackrabbits and the Jaguars, Davison totaled just eight points and seven rebounds in 46 minutes on the court.
After a two-point performance against South Alabama, though, Davison had his mindset changed. Oats met with Davison to talk about his approach to the game, and in doing so, the young player's approach to not just the game itself, but also practices changed.
“Mostly in just talking to coach he just said that he believed in me a lot,” Davison said. “He’s just telling me to go out there and play hard and everything else will fall into place. So you can see that tonight. I just went out there and played hard on both ends of the court and everything just fell in place.”
After the conversation with his head coach, Davison took the advice to heart. Rather than waiting for his team's next game to adjust his approach, Davison immediately began to adjust his game in practices.
To Davison, he saw the results almost instantly.
“Yesterday I practiced hard — I think I had one of my best practices," Davison said. "Not just on the 10 points and seven rebounds and five assists. I think I went out there and played hard. Wasn’t thinking about scoring once everything opened up, I just went.”
As noted by Davison, against Oakland the freshman guard registered 10 points and seven rebounds, bouncing back after a lackluster start to the season. He also registered five assists and finished the game with a plus/minus of +19.
While his stats were certainly improved, Davison's best contributions didn't show up on a stat sheet. Throughout the game, Davison's defense was stepped up to a new level. On both ends of the court, the NBA-hopeful was diving for loose balls and playing with a much higher level of effort than had previously been seen in his first college games.
“His effort was — I mean, you saw him flying for rebounds,” Oats said. “He was our leading rebounder I think, him and Noah tied at seven. I think when he’s playing hard, flying around, he looks great. He’s attacking the rim. The more we can get out in transition, the better he’s gonna look. You lose yourself in the game with all the effort stuff, and the offense just kinda flows.
"I thought this is the hardest he’s played defensively — rebounding and all that — then he goes two-of-four from three. When you’re just playing and playing hard, then your instincts just kind of take over on offense and you just play the game and I thought this was his best overall game he's played so I was happy for him.”
Davison heating up and beginning to contribute at a higher level could not have come at a better time for Alabama basketball. The Crimson Tide's upcoming non-conference schedule is brutal, starting this week at the ESPN Events Invitational. On Thanksgiving Day, Alabama will play in a March Madness rematch with Iona, a team that gave the Crimson Tide fits in the opening round of last season's NCAA Tournament. If Alabama wins, it will face either Belmont or Drake and — should the Crimson Tide win once again — it could potentially face a very tough No. 4 Kansas.
The tough stretch doesn't end at the ESPN Events Invitational, though. In its ensuing three games, Alabama will play top-ranked Gonzaga at the Battle in Seattle, then will host No. 12 Houston before traveling to face No. 9 Memphis.
Oats is a firm believer that Davison heating up will be a crucial factor for the team should it have sustained success over one of the toughest non-conference schedules of any team in college basketball.
“I think it’s big,” Oats said. “I mean, he’s super-talented. We need him playing aggressive going downhill using his athleticism. He’s a great passer. I think he makes guys around him better. The biggest areas of improvement with him come on the defensive end. He’s an unbelievable athlete so he should be a great defender, he’s just got to continue to study and he’s doing that. He’s studying hard.
"He’s just like a typical freshman: the defensive end doesn’t always come as natural and they’ve never been pushed quite as hard as they’re gonna be pushed here. But we need him playing well. He’s one of our more talented guys that makes our team better. He makes the players around him better when he’s in there.”
After a 4-0 start, Alabama is now ranked No. 9 in the coaches poll as well as No. 10 in the AP Top 25. The Crimson Tide still has a very long way to go in terms of playing its best basketball, but Davison heating up at just the right time would heavily increase the team's chances at success.
Basketball is a game of ups and downs. Sometimes there are games where shots simply don't fall and it's up to the players to then take a defensive approach to the game. However, a little bit of encouragement from a teammate or coach can go a long way to boosting a player's morale and, in the end, have an impact on their approach to the game.
Oats isn't the only believer in Davison. Junior guard Jaden Shackelford admitted his confidence in his freshman teammate and stated that his improvement will be big for the Crimson Tide over the course of the season.
“It’s gonna be huge for us,” Shackelford said. “We feel like he’s built for this moment. He’s constantly getting better. He’s just getting more comfortable with every game, so obviously him playing at a high level is gonna contribute to us playing at a high level as a team as a whole. He’s getting there and I feel like him playing at a high level is gonna be expected throughout this tournament and the rest of the season and I think he’s well capable of doing it.”
