Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis Says He Could Make An ‘Immediate Impact’ With The Knicks

Johnny Davis knows he could land with the New York Knicks in Thursday’s NBA Draft and believes he would be a perfect fit if he does.

The Knicks pick at No. 11 and the 6-foot-5 Davis is expected to go somewhere in that draft range unless they trade up, potentially with the Sacramento Kings for the No. 4 pick

“I did meet with them at the Combine in Chicago,” Davis, who averaged 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds en route to being named to the AP All-America First-Team, said Monday on a Zoom call. “I feel that Tom Thibodeau is really high on defensive guys so I feel like if I was to get drafted by the Knicks I could come in and make an impact immediately on the defensive end especially.”

Asked about his meeting with Thibodeau, Davis said, “It was great. He’s been around the league for a while. He knows what he’s doing so it was cool to be able to talk to him and the front office.”

The Knicks are in need of a point guard and already have a slew of wings, including R.J. Barrett, Evan Fournier, Immanuel Quickle and Quentin Grimes.

Yet longtime NBA skills trainer Andrew Moran, who has been working with Davis in Miami, feels he will bring immediate value to whoever drafts him.

“I think Johnny Davis brings a lot of value,” Moran said in a phone interview. “First of all, his arms are long, his hands are big, he has great instincts. He moves off the ball. His mid-range is really, really, really good. I like his mid-range a lot. And then his 3-point shot is good. He’ll have some improvement but when you get to the league that’s definitely going to improve. Teams have great player development so that guy’s going to bring value immediately on offense and defense.”

ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla says Davis can be a prototypical NBA wing.

“Johnny Davis is a great story of improvement,” he said. “He wasn’t highly recruited but he had the talent, athleticism and toughness to grow into a great college player and Big 10 MVP. Those attributes fit the prototypical NBA wing.”