Michigan redshirt junior forward Austin Davis has been a pleasant surprise this season for head coach Juwan Howard, especially in recent weeks. We'll take a look at his progression, and what has allowed him to be so successful.
What He Was
Davis had been a third big man, the second one off the bench in many cases, during his first two seasons playing. He played in 16 games in 2017-18 and 25 games in 2018-19, mostly getting minutes when U-M's frontline was in foul trouble.
He attempted 33 total shots in those two seasons combined, making 21 of those for an efficient shooting percentage of 64 percent
Davis' career-high in points coming into this season was six points in a blowout win over Chattanooga, a game U-M won by 28, in 2018-19. He had played 10 minutes or more in a game just twice, against Alabama A&M in 2017-18 and against Chattanooga in 2018-19.
What He Is
In his fourth year, Davis knows exactly what his role is, even as it continues to grow. He entered the year as the third big man, behind senior center Jon Teske and sophomore forward Colin Castleton. Now, he's passed Castleton and is even closing the gap with Teske, whose offense has struggled lately. He's also playing alongside Castleton or Teske, at times, giving U-M a bigger look, though that was more frequent when junior forward Isaiah Livers was out with a groin injury.
Where foul trouble was his gateway into the game in previous years, and even early in this one, now he's on the floor because he's earned the trust of his coaches and teammates, and has made his impact known to anyone and everyone that's paying attention.
Davis' role has grown throughout the season. He has played in just 16 of U-M's 23 games, but hasn't missed a game since Dec. 14 against Oregon.
It's hard to pinpoint one breakthrough moment or breakout game for Davis this season. There's been several, and they're coming on a more consistent basis as the season progresses.
One could point to his eight points and eight rebounds in a home win over Iowa on Dec. 6 as a breakout game. His seven points and four rebounds in 15 minutes at Michigan State was seen as a step in the right direction.
But his 8-point, 11-point (career-high) and 4-point outings, all in the span of a week, against Rutgers, Ohio State and in the second meeting against Michigan State, respectively, proved that he's here to stay.
Throughout the season, Howard has said Davis "stays ready so he doesn't have to get ready." That's been a mantra of some of the bench players this season, and nobody has embodied it better than Davis.
"Just keeping your head in it, always being prepared," Davis said of the philosophy after his 11 points against Ohio State last Tuesday. "Always knowing everything on the scouting report, always preparing in practice beforehand. Just knowing that you could be thrown in there any minute, and if you are, you gotta go out there and perform to the best of your ability and help your team win ... and do it for your brothers."
His confidence is the aspect of his game that stands out the most. He doesn't look like a player thrown into the fire any longer. He belongs.
Davis is averaging 9.9 minutes per game, and is shooting 70.2 percent from the field. He's averaging 18.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per 40 minutes. Teske is averaging just under that, at 18.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per 40 minutes.
Now, it would be hard to predict that Davis' production would be at the same rate if he played the 28.6 minutes per game that Teske does, but that doesn't matter. For the time Davis is on the court, he's produced, whether that's alongside Teske or while Teske is getting a breather.
The Film: What He Does
Using his three very good performances in the last three games, we'll take a look at what Davis does that makes such a big impact when he's out there.
• First, his defense. It's energetic, physical and pesky. Opposing bigs don't like going up against him, because he's relentless, and doesn't give up any ground in the post. He also rotates well in help defense.
• His offense has really been the biggest boost he's given off the bench this season. Davis is the most natural low-post up player U-M has in its arsenal. His moves are crisp and decisive, and he goes up strong. On the pick and roll, he finds the right space and finishes strong.
• In the Rutgers game, he was hard to contain, diving to the bucket on the pick and roll. In recent games, Howard has been liking the offensive set (shown twice below) where he has a double ball screen at the top of the key for Simpson. Davis has thrived in that set, as well as in the traditional pick and roll.
• His offense, including two second half put-backs after offensive rebounds, was huge for U-M to stay with Ohio State down the stretch, in a close loss.
• Against Michigan State, he provided 11 quality minutes that lifted U-M on both ends of the floor. He did nick his shoulder a bit at the end of the first half, but was able to return in the second half, and made some key plays.
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