Austin Davis shoots down transfer noise

Submitted by Brian Griese on

A few of my family members are in the inner circle of the Davis’ family and I had heard before the tourney he wasn’t planning to leave but since it’s in writing now I figured I would share. As discussed in a prior thread, some may construe this as more evidence Moe is considering leaving.

“I’ll be here,” Davis said. “I committed to Michigan, and I’m not going anywhere. This season just showed me what I need to do differently.”

http://www.lenconnect.com/sports/20180410/davis-anschuetz-find-roles-du…

Gulogulo37

April 11th, 2018 at 1:18 AM ^

But Mo is likely to leave. He's basically guaranteed like 10 minutes a game next year. Won't he only be a redshirt sophomore next year? It's not like he was a 5 star who expected to be the main dude right away. Doesn't make sense to transfer unless there are other issues.

TrueBlue2003

April 11th, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^

it's not like his nearing the end.  For someone that already redshirted, it doesn't make much sense to transfer and sit out another season.

It would be crazy not to compete with the freshmen for a backup spot next year. Then if he loses out, grad transfer in two years without having to sit again.

goblue16

April 10th, 2018 at 10:16 PM ^

If Wagner leaves we’re gonna be a smaller team but hopefully a better shooting team which is what Beilein built his legacy under. I would like to see us play with a better 3 point % even if it sacrifices a little defense. In the end Beilein knows best GO BLUE!

Coldwater

April 10th, 2018 at 10:30 PM ^

Can Austin Davis ever give Michigan meaningful, quality minutes in games that matter? He not going to the NBA, we know that. But does he have the explosiveness and quicks to do anything at Michigan?

TrueBlue2003

April 12th, 2018 at 12:51 AM ^

that's how he held his own against bigger guys and how he was so good at stepping in front of drivers to take charges.

He was also quick and light footed off the pick and roll.  A very good finisher.

Explosive (in my book reserved for guys that have a very quick first step off the dribble or that explode off the court when jumping) is not how I would describe him but he was quick for a guy playing his position.

WorldwideTJRob

April 11th, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^

Dumbest comment on here. J-Mo ain’t Usain Bolt but he’s much quicker than Austin Davis. During his Redshirt Freshman year he caught many Oops off the pick & roll from his roommate Darius Morris. Austin Davis is just a space eater, wouldn’t be shocked if Beilein just goes small with the Freshmen or Livers at the 5 if Teske gets in foul trouble.

BPocern

April 10th, 2018 at 10:32 PM ^

I think he’s just been buried behind Mo and Teske. He’s going to be a solid 5 for us. Remember, only a RS Soph next season. He’s only seen mop up duty, but doesn’t seem lost out there like we’ve seen with young guys in the past.

In reply to by Khaleke The Freak

BlueWon

April 11th, 2018 at 4:39 PM ^

And not due to foul trouble on the part of others.

He had two fouls, one rebound, and no shots or points in those two minutes.

C'mon, he barely played in that game and was really overmatched.

Frank Chuck

April 10th, 2018 at 11:16 PM ^

Some MGoBloggers have a well-documented history of writing off players who aren't major contributors as freshmen.

From this year's National Runner-Up team, there were people who believe Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske would never be important players based on the 2017-18 season.

"Oops."

And now some of those same fans want to write off Eli Brooks or Austin Davis or Ibi Watson.

Chalky White

April 11th, 2018 at 10:13 AM ^

It's not so much that they are writing them off. Its not every season your team goes to the final four and your best player is a 2nd round pick with a year of eligibility left. We know someone is leaving. If Wagner says he is coming back, what are they going to do? I don't know enough about the bench players who don't get much time. I know I would like to see Wagner come back if he choses to come back. Now, that doesn't seem possible.
I also don't like the idea of recruiting with scholarships you don't have. They were expecting Wagner and/or Matthews to leave. Neither one put together a complete season. Someone has to go.

TrueBlue2003

April 12th, 2018 at 1:14 AM ^

and there's a good chance it'd be a mistake, professionally.  He's unlikely to prove anything else in college so getting one year older is likely to hurt more than any improvement he does make.

Of course, that's not to say he won't come back because he could decide he wants to for personal reasons. And if he does, it never seemed like Davis, who already redshirted, would be the guy to transfer.  Seems like it'd be Ibi Watson or perhaps they have a freshman greyshirt? Not sure what the options are but I don't think it'll matter.

ST3

April 10th, 2018 at 11:43 PM ^

Averaged 1.8 points per game his freshman season. I am not saying Davis is the next Kaminsky. I am saying some bigs take time to develop.

Naked Bootlegger

April 11th, 2018 at 9:10 AM ^

Wait, I'm the one who always advertises the Frank Kaminsky development story!  Seriously, though.   I remember watching Kaminsky as a Freshman and Sophomore thinking that he might be decent B1G sixth man by the time he left Madison.   We were all wrong.    I know Kaminsky scenarios are rare, but so many players are written off much too soon in the modern era.

Jonesy

April 11th, 2018 at 1:34 AM ^

Davis already redshirted, if he transferred now he'd lose a year of eligibility, for this reason alone I always figured that if someone transferred it'd be Ibi.

 

IIRC chatter was Austin was better than Teske in practice their freshman year and IMO I've been impressed by him in the little amount of time he's been on the court this year.

 

Don't the mgobloggers always say big men often take time to develop?

DeepBlueC

April 11th, 2018 at 6:40 AM ^

That was Beilein himself saying that Davis had come along better than Teske after the decision had been made that Davis would be the one to redshirt.  Obviously Beilein saw something, but whatever it was did not manifest itself on the floor against real competition.

Brian Griese

April 11th, 2018 at 8:10 AM ^

Remember, Austin red-shirted last season so he and Mathews were scout team only, which means Austin was largely going against Donnal and Moe in practice. I can vouch Austin got his on the offensive end against those two plenty in scout scrimmages, including one day where it caused Beilein to have a Bob Knight style meltdown. I think this season shows to me how big of an upgrade Teske was on the defensive side compared to Moe and yes, Donnal which led to him being the primary backup.

TheBlueAbides

April 11th, 2018 at 9:45 AM ^

I’m certainly not ready to write him off, but there was also a lot of talk about how donnal was chewing people up and spitting them out his RS Freshman year... this is the same guy who lost his starting job twice to a guy who plays for FGCU. Not saying Davis can’t develop but it goes both ways. Personally I like the kid and hope he can be a solid part to the team going forward. I feel like people want to write off Ibi (I may have been guilty at times of this) and Austin on the hopes that Mo will come back and we have the scholarship space for everyone.

lhglrkwg

April 11th, 2018 at 6:16 AM ^

Let's all bookmark this thread so we can come back to it in 2-3 years when Davis is either a starter or a quality bench contributor. Everyone saying he's never going to be good after not being impressive as a freshman just started watching Michigan basketball like 2 weeks ago I guess and doesn't realize guys usually improve a ton under Beilein

DeepBlueC

April 11th, 2018 at 8:17 AM ^

Which was not what I was asking about. And in any case, he played in a lot more games than Davis during his first full season on the court, and his athleticism was obvious. It was not that big a surprise to people when he broke out big in his RS sophomore year. No one expects Davis to break out that way next year.

TrueBlue2003

April 12th, 2018 at 1:25 AM ^

it was obvious he was the best athlete on the team.  He had a high block rate and had pretty good shooting splits.  He should have been playing a lot more minutes but Beilein was too in love with Duncan and his 50%+ three point shooting (which crashed down to earch in big ten play) and didn't pay enough attention to defense, something he has repeatedly admitted.

JHendo

April 11th, 2018 at 8:43 AM ^

Because they have different opinions than you, they must be bandwagon fans? That's pretty naive.

That said, not everyone who plays for Beilein becomes a consistent contributor or remarkably improves, that'd be silly to think otherwise. But I hope he does if he stays.