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Five-Star PG J.D. Davison Puts Michigan In Top 6
After securing a pledge from 2021 Henderson (Nev.) Coronado four-star point guard Frankie Collins earlier in the week, Michigan continued that positive trend when Letohatchee (Ala.) Calhoun School five-star point guard J.D. Davison put U-M in his top six on Thursday.
Michigan made the cut along with Auburn, Alabama, Kansas, LSU and Memphis, but what is most intriguing about that list is that Davison does not currently hold a scholarship offer from the Wolverines. So, in order for Michigan to make that exclusive list, U-M must have already put some work in with Davison's recruitment or he is a big fan of the Wolverines and what head coach Juwan Howard brings to the table-- or both. In his short time in Ann Arbor, Howard has been a hit on the recruiting trail, and the ability to get Davison so interested in the program before even picking up an offer speaks volumes.
According to Rivals.com, Davison is listed as the No. 3 point guard in the 2021 class and the No. 15 prospect overall, so he's clearly among the cream of the crop in this cycle. And while its interesting that he has Michigan so high on his list sans-offer, the timing is notable since the Wolverines just landed a point guard commit within the last week. However, five-star players like Davison often carry confidence that they'll break the lineup at whichever school they ultimately choose, so the Collins / Kobe Bufkin tandem as U-M commits likely won't deter Davison.
On the court, Davison is one of the flashier guards in the country, and he is known to put on a show. Davison led his team to the AHSAA Class 2A championship game a year ago, and that run was accompanied by many rim-rattling drives. Davison is similar to Collins in that he is athletic enough to attack the basket, but he appears to be a bit more aggressive and has slightly better finishing touch, though the two are neck and neck in those categories.
Davison proved that he is a clever passer on tape but one with a tendency to get ahead of the basketball when running down the floor and does not have the tightest grip on the rock. Those qualities also explain why the five-star prospect can get to the basket at will, so it's a bit of a give and take situation.
On offense, Davison can get his jumper off and knocks down shots, but Collins appears to have an edge in perimeter shooting for this comparison. Davison simply does need to take a lot of shots from the outside since he's so skilled at driving the lane, but he will need to develop a consistent outside game at the next level.
From a defensive perspective, Davison does not have a lot of clips from that side of the court, which is pretty common for basketball recruits, but he makes a few plays as an on-ball defender and shows that he stays engaged on motion plays. Overall, he is more of a scoring threat than a well-rounded point guard, but his ability to fill the bucket is so high that he will likely make an early impact in college.
Right now, Michigan has four commits in its 2021 class, but two of those prospects are guards. So, that raises the question on whether or not the Wolverines should take a second point guard if that future commit is of the five-star variety, such as J.D. Davison. Having Collins and Davison compete against each other for minutes could bring out the best in each of them, but it is always tough to find enough time on the floor for a pair of high level players that can each run the offense. Kobe Bufkin is somewhat in that same discussion as well, but he is more of an off-ball guard.
Small forward Isaiah Barnes and power forward Will Tschetter are the other Michigan commits in what is a four-man top 10 class at the moment.
Do you think Michigan should take two point guards in this cycle if one is a five-star talent? Would Collins and Davison mesh well at the next level? Let us know!
