Lucas: Davis Represents USA in Invaluable Experience
July 19, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Sophomore brings home gold medal and boost in confidence
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — As a celebrated prep at La Crosse Central, and now as a blossoming collegian at Wisconsin, Jonathan Davis has never lacked confidence. In his game. In himself.
"I always have the same amount of confidence whenever I'm thinking about anything …'' asserted the Badger sophomore guard who paused before adding, "Especially basketball.''
One can only imagine that confidence growing in the 19-year-old Davis after donning a USA jersey and bringing home a gold medal from the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in Riga, Latvia.
"Yeah, it might boost it a little bit … you never know,'' he said shyly, once again pausing before continuing, "I'm trying to stay humble about it, too.''
Subtleties aside, UW assistant coach Dean Oliver knows the grounded Davis has plenty to be proud about considering the company he has been keeping lately on the international stage.
"What an honor it is to be chosen as one of the top 19-and-under guys in the country and getting to represent the USA,'' Oliver observed. "Not only that, but getting the gold medal.
"There's not too many people who can say that … to know that you're one of the best not only in the United States, but one of the best in the world.
"He's going to come back with a ton of confidence. Not that he didn't already have confidence. But now he's going to be taking more of a leadership role this year with our team.''
Davis sounded more than ready for it. In this context, he welcomes the opportunity to be one of the faces of the 2021-22 Badgers, along with junior Tyler Wahl, on a team with so many new pieces.
Expectations have never intimidated Davis. That was true in June upon learning that he was one of 26 players picked for the USA U19 World Cup training camp in Fort Worth, Texas.
Purdue's Matt Painter, Virginia's Tony Bennett, Providence's Ed Cooley, former Arizona coach Sean Miller and former Duke and NBA star Shane Battier were on the selection committee.
Davis relished the competition on the TCU campus under the supervision of the U19 staff: Horned Frogs head coach Jamie Dixon, Stanford assistant Jerod Haase and Yale assistant James Jones.
Ultimately, the 12-member travel team featured six athletes from the high school class of 2021 and six who had just completed their first collegiate season. Davis was not surprised to make the cut.
"My expectation was to make the team – that's why I accepted the invite,'' he said. "I played my game the duration of the tryouts. I always had the mindset of believing I was going to make it.
"I thought I shot the ball really well from 3 (during the camp). I was one of the best shooters. It has been something that I've been working on, too. And I finally put it to use.
"After they made the final cut, we had a couple of days with a set final roster to practice a little bit and hang out. But the trip to Latvia made us bond as a team way more.''
In their two exhibitions, four quarter scrimmages, the Americans lost to Australia, 78-72; and beat Spain, 61-60. In retrospect, Davis felt it was a turning point as far as everybody pulling together.
"It was really bad basketball,'' he said, "and we knew if we didn't come together and play as a team, we weren't going to win it (the World Cup).
"We figured that out by our first game, and we came out and beat Turkey by nearly 30 (83-54) and that momentum just carried throughout the entire tournament.''Â
After going scoreless in the opener, Davis bounced back with seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 100-52 dismantling of Mali in the preliminary round.
The Americans broke things open with a 13-0 run in the second quarter that was keyed by a Davis 3-pointer and an old fashioned 3-point conversion by Davis on the subsequent possession.
Team USA was dominant in its rematch with Australia, winning 87-66. Once again, Davis scored seven points, but he also fouled out in 11 minutes of playing time.
"I thought I fouled a lot – I've got to be better with that,'' he admitted. "I would say it was a little more physical. It really just depended on what set of officials we got.''
In the following game, a 132-60 rout of South Korea, Davis played a personal-high 17 minutes and contributed nine points and three rebounds. He also had five assists and zero turnovers.
The USA then advanced into the semifinals with a convincing 88-58 win over Senegal. Davis played 15 minutes and had three points, two assists and two steals.
From thereon, Davis logged just eight minutes in a 92-86 victory over Canada and tweaked his ankle in the gold-medal game, thereby limiting his action in the 83-81 win over France.
For the seven game World Cup tournament, Davis averaged a little over 12 minutes and four points with 10 assists, only three turnovers and six steals.
"It was a great experience and opportunity for me, and I enjoyed it a lot,'' Davis said. "All the guys on the team knew how to play with other great players and we did that. We played together.''
Purdue's Jaden Ivey, a sophomore-to-be, was the second leading scorer (12.3 point). Former Illinois guard, Adam Miller, who has transferred to LSU, averaged 7.4 points.
"I guess I could have looked to be more aggressive offensively,'' Davis said of his performance. "But I thought I played very unselfish. I played to win. I got shots for my teammates.''
Although sightseeing was limited in the capital-city of Riga – "It was like a bubble, we couldn't leave the hotel; we took a bus tour, but we couldn't get off the bus'' – Davis brought home a keepsake.
"I brought back a gold medal,'' said Davis, his voice raising ever so slightly to reflect his excitement and pride. "I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. But it's with me at all times.''
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As a true freshman, Davis was a high-energy, sparkplug off the bench for the Badgers. Besides leading the team in steals (34), he averaged seven points and four rebounds in 31 games.
Like most first-year contributors, there was an understandable inconsistency in his game, especially on the offensive end, the result of inexperience and newness to the system and Big Ten.
"He's great in so many areas, but if I had to choose one, scoring from the outside is something that he's looking to improve on a lot this year,'' Oliver said. "He's worked hard on his shot.
"Overall, he's just such a dynamic player. And he just has to keep going in the same direction that he has already been going in.''
Before leaving for the USA tryouts, Davis took part in voluntary late spring and early summer workouts. Strength and conditioning coach Jim Snider has mapped out the off-season blueprint.
"Everyone on the team loves having him in there,'' Davis said of Snider's presence in the Kohl Center weight room. "He knows what he's doing, too. We have a lot of respect for that guy.''
As for his own physical development, the 6-5 Davis noted, "I want to work on getting my body stronger and I want to continue to work on my craft. I can improve in every aspect of my game.''
In doing so, he seems to be comfortable in leading by example for the new additions to the roster, particularly the freshmen ball-handlers in the backcourt, Chucky Hepburn and Lorne Bowman.
"We had a few workouts before I left for Latvia and I got to see what those guys were like,'' Davis said. "He (Hepburn) carries himself with a lot of confidence. He's a smart player, very athletic.Â
"Lorne was on campus a little bit last year before he took his leave of absence. He was the same dude when he got back. Super chill. I'm excited to play with him, too.''
Based on his recruiting knowledge of Hepburn and Bowman, and what he has found out about them since, Oliver has been impressed "by just how good they are already with the ball in their hands.''Â
Both were high school point guards. Hepburn (Omaha, Nebraska) was the Gatorade Player of the Year. Bowman (Detroit, Michigan) was first-team All-State and a Mr. Basketball finalist.
"I'd say they definitely have their own unique abilities,'' Oliver said. "Chucky is really explosive. Good change of speed, and really crafty. Lorne is real smooth. He has nice pull-up game.
"They're great at finding guys off penetration and just making the right play. That's hard to do coming in your first year but they've done a nice job of that so far.''
Asked how Hepburn and Bowman might mesh on the floor with Davis, he said, "The good thing about Johnny is he can play with or without the ball so well.
"He's great at making little cuts and finding little open spots or backdoor cuts when other guys are driving. He's just so versatile.
"It's big that Johnny won't have to shoulder all the playmaking that we've lost with the seniors, especially D'Mitrik Trice. Johnny can play off others with some of the new guys we've got.''
One of those newcomers is 6-foot-3, 200-pound Jahcobi Neath, a Toronto, Ontario native and a transfer from Wake Forest. Two seasons in the ACC should assist Neath's transition to the UW.
"He's a guy who can play point guard and move over to the 2 or even the 3,'' Oliver said of his versatility. "He has that much athleticism. He also has some experience and strength physically.''
Jonathan Davis has another guard candidate in mind for the rotation – his twin brother, Jordan, who toiled primarily on the scout team last season while logging just 19 total minutes of game action.
"He has been putting in more work than I've ever seen him put in,'' Jonathan said. "I'm excited to see him this year. People may not expect a lot from him, but they're going to see a lot.''
That was seconded by Oliver who said of Jordan, "I just think having a year under your belt, you can see that he's a more confident player already this summer.
"He's worked on his ball handling. You can definitely see that. He's always been a good shooter. He knows what he's doing. There's no confusion. He's just hungry.''
Oliver agreed that it would be an apt description of this Badger team. Hungry. While preseason expectations will be low in the Big Ten with such a roster turnover, they can control how they work.
"Right now, team workouts are very limited, about two hours a week,'' he said. "But it's a time when you have to start building good habits and then they'll carry over when we start in the fall.''
One of the few constants is Brad Davison, a fifth-year senior and 1,000-plus-point scorer. With 128 games of seasoning, including 124 starts, he can be a vital resource to the growth of this group.
"Brad is a chameleon, he can fit in with anybody … and he has fit in great,'' Oliver suggested. "He's just really enjoying himself. And he's kind of taking a backseat vocally compared to the past.
"He knows that it's kind of Tyler's and Johnny's time and he has allowed them to grow in that area and use their voices more.''
One thing has remained the same for Jonathan Davis.
"Same goals as always,'' stressed the World Cup gold-medalist. "Win the Big Ten. Make a run in the tournament. Those goals don't change. I'm just excited to work with the new faces.''
That work begins anew with this pledge from Davis, "I'll be getting better as I grow.''
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