MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — The possession began with a "no-no" and ended with a "yes-yes."

All in all, it was another Jonathan Davis snapshot, another sequence signaling his growth as a freshman and another illustration of why Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft was moved to say, "Combining all of that with the ultimate warrior's heart, you've got a hell of a player on your hands."

Less than eight minutes into the first half against Minnesota, the Badgers were clinging to a small lead when Isaiah Ihnen missed a 3-pointer. Gabe Kalscheur grabbed the offensive rebound, much to the chagrin of Davis who admitted, "I didn't box out which was a no-no. But I made up for it."

The ball wound up at the top of the key in the hands of the Gophers 21-year-old junior guard Marcus Carr, one of the most explosive scorers in the Big Ten off the bounce. Through the first seven games of the season, he had scored 30 or more points three times while consistently getting to the rim.

The 18-year-old Davis measured Carr as the one-on-one unfolded.

"I knew that he likes to just drive," said Davis, who was well aware of Carr's tendencies and offensive acumen. "And I knew once that he got the ball in his hands after that offensive rebound, he was going to try and go. I sat back on my toes and waited for him to make a move."

When he did, Davis countered by poking the ball away from Carr.

"I used my length and athleticism to get the steal. And I took it and went to the other end."

Putting a punctuation mark on the sequence, Davis scored on his first dunk as a collegian.

"I feel like I should have had a few more, but it's always good to get at least one."

For a majority of the game, UW's fifth-year senior D'Mitrik Trice drew the defensive assignment on Carr and held him to only two baskets while they were matched up. When Trice and Davis tagged off, was there something in particular that Davis had seen on film that led to the steal and run-out?

"No, not really. Something I did notice on film, though, he doesn't get picked a lot."

Krabbenhoft was thinking the same thing from the Wisconsin sidelines.

"With all respect to Marcus Carr — we all know he's one of the best guards in the league, if not the best — ain't nobody else taking it from him, at least not that I've seen," he said. "And Johnny just took it from him and I'm not trying to put him on blast. That's how much respect I have for Carr.

"But there's not many guys with the length and quickness of his hands to just poke it free.

"And then, go get it and dunk."

Volunteering some context, Davis said, "It's not like I was coming into the game thinking that I was going to get a steal (on Carr). It just happened. Usually, I only try to do it (go for the steal) when I know I can get the ball. With Marcus, I knew he was close enough to me where my arms could reach …"

And tap it away.

"I don't know what my wingspan is. But I know it's a lot longer than a lot of people my height."

The 6-foot-5, 196-pound Davis ended up playing a season-high 30 minutes and 33 seconds in Wisconsin's 71-59 victory over Minnesota at the Kohl Center. Due to a cancelation of Sunday's game at Penn State, it was the last time the Badgers played leading up to Thursday's matchup against Indiana.

Coming off the bench, Davis has been averaging 23 minutes of playing time overall, 26 in the Big Ten, a sign of the burgeoning trust that coach Greg Gard has shown in Davis, who's also averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds against league foes. He has played 30 or more minutes in two of the last three.

"He's so gifted," Krabbenhoft said of Davis, who starred in football and basketball at La Crosse Central High School. "It was so clear whether we watched him play football a few times, AAU games, high school games, meetings with him, that he was just a competitor and we loved that about him.

"You combine his competitiveness — his competitive spirit, his competitive nature — with a skill set that is much more diverse than I think some give him credit for at times. Everyone is starting to see it. But we get to see it every day. And he's very skilled at handling the ball and he shoots it really well.

"We're starting to see it all come to fruition. And there's a ton more in the tank as he continues to grow and get better. Competitors do whatever it takes to win that possession and they're willing to do whatever it takes to help your team win. And he has done it in a multitude of ways."
 

There was another telling Davis snapshot from Wisconsin's win at Michigan State. Despite picking up his fourth personal foul with a little more than four minutes to play in the game, he stayed aggressive and posted up Foster Loyer for a basket that pushed the Badgers into a 73-69 lead.

Davis outmuscled Loyer and backed him under the rim where he was helpless.

"I was thinking I had mismatch — Foster Loyer (6-0, 175) is a lot smaller than I am and normally when you have an advantage against a smaller player you take him to the post," he said. "I wasn't thinking about the four fouls at all. I'm used to being able to play smart without fouling late in a game."

If he looked comfortable posting-up, it's because he is.

"My sophomore and junior year of high school, I played mostly the 4 (power forward) so I was in the post a lot, so, yeah, I guess you could say I'm comfortable," said Davis, who always has certain objectives in his mind when he gets the ball in or around the paint. "Patience and surveying the floor.

"So, what I mean about that, when I catch it in the post, I don't try to dribble right away. I just look at the floor to see if there's a double-team coming because if there is a double-team, and you put it on the floor, that forces you to pick the ball up and you're trapped.

"And then you can't really find an open teammate. I catch the ball and look. And if I know I have the guy, one-on-one, then I'll start to dribble. And if the double-team comes, I'll take a dribble out and try to find a teammate. It's all about confidence. That's all that is."

Davis' instincts, his basketball IQ, created another scoring opportunity for the Badgers in the final seconds against the Spartans. A loose ball was tracked down by Aleem Ford who made the save in front of the scorer's table by whipping a blind, behind-the-back pass that was snared by Trice.

"I figured Aleem was going to get the ball and save it in-bounds because of the athlete that he is and I knew we needed a bucket," said Davis, who released and sprinted to the opposite end of the floor where he received a long pass from Trice and scored. Trice, like Davis, was a prep quarterback.

"He saw me wide-open and he threw me the ball right where it needed to be.

"And all I was thinking was, 'Don't blow this.'"

Davis didn't. So far, he has handled everything with an aplomb that belies his age.

"I just need to be more patient — I think I'm playing a little bit too fast right now," said Davis offering a self-critique. "It's kind of like high school all over again, it's kind of like my freshman year where I was playing with a group of seniors in the starting five and a couple on the bench, too."

Davis feels like he's still "finding my role" with the Badgers, who start five seniors. Although he has become an integral component of an eight-player rotation that also features senior Trevor Anderson and sophomore Tyler Wahl off the bench, he's still fine-tuning different aspects of his play.

For instance, he opened the season by making eight of his first nine free throws in the first five games. But over the last six games, he's 2-of-8 from the line. "It's been a little bit of a struggle as of late," he said. "But I'll pick it up eventually. I shot 80 percent my senior year. It's definitely mental."

Meanwhile, Davis has attempted just 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and made four. Conceded Davis, "I'm not really looking to shoot the 3 as much. I'm just looking to get post-ups and closer to the rim for higher percentage shots. I would shoot about one or two in high school."

During many practices, Davis will get some possession work on the Wisconsin scout team — joining his twin brother Jordan — which is designed not only to better simulate the athleticism of an upcoming opponent for the Badger starters, but as a means to accelerate the learning curve.

"Obviously, it's good for the competitiveness in practice to keep guys sharp," Krabbenhoft said. "But probably more than anything, it's helping Johnny understand the scouting reports even better. You're running their plays and then you're flipping over to coach Gard's first team and now guarding it.

"If you just ran it, you should be able to guard it."

Agreeing with that assessment, Davis added, "It kind of gives you a look in the opposing team's shoes to see what kind of offense they run and how they like to play."

Big Ten opponents, in turn, now have a better read and book on Davis, too.

"For a young player that can be the most challenging at times just understanding how in-depth people can get on scouting reports — countering to stop you," Krabbenhoft said. "There's a bunch of film on Johnny Davis and they're going to try and take away strengths because he's a weapon of ours."

Davis fully recognizes that opponents are collecting his snapshots and building a film library.

But he cautioned, "I don't really think I've shown them what I can do yet this year."

Another expectation that the best is yet to come.