Johnny Davis Has The Badgers Back Atop The Big Ten And A Growing Case For Player Of The Year Honors

Brad Davison didn’t mince words when asked about his teammate, sophomore guard Johnny Davis.

“He’s the best player in the country,” the Wisconsin Badgers’ senior shooting guard said after Davis scored the final six points in Wisconsin’s 66-60 victory over rival Minnesota Sunday afternoon.

Arguing Davison’s point is a difficult proposition.

Davis, a 6-foot-5 19-year-old from La Crosse, Wis. has been nothing short of spectacular for the Badgers this season. He leads the team in scoring with 21.4 points per game — a mark that also puts him second in the Big Ten and eighth among all NCAA Division 1 players — 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 44% from the field and 35.5% from beyond the arc.

But as is often the case, Davis’ value goes far deeper than just numbers on the box score. He has undoubtedly been the Badgers’ go-to option when games have been on the line. Earlier this season, he capped off Wisconsin’s largest comeback in program history with the go-ahead 3-pointer in a 64-59 victory over Indiana and before that, scored 19 of his career-high 37 points over the final 10 minutes in a 74-69 road upset of No. 3 Purdue.

“I’ve always said his No. 1 trait is his competitiveness and his willingness to lay it all on the line for his team,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the victory at Purdue. “You heard him several times mention his teammates and that’s really what he’s always been about. He’s gotten bigger, stronger, more explosive. He’s a great listener, he’s very coachable. When you put all those things together, then you have a pretty special player.”

Pretty impressive for a kid who had never scored more than 17 points during his freshman season and wasn’t even picked on the preseason All-Big Ten team.

He wasn’t the only one snubbed by the experts. The Badgers, themselves, were picked to finish 10th in a preseason poll of Big Ten Conference media members after Wisconsin lost six seniors including four starters and four of its top five scorers from a team that went 18-13 a year ago.

But with Davis leading the charge, Wisconsin has made those prognosticators look foolish. After falling to 2-1 with a 63-58 home loss to Providence, the Badgers beat Texas A&M, No. 12 Houston and Saint Mary’s to claim the Maui Invitational crown and followed that with three more victories before suffering their second loss of the year, a 73-55 rout by then-No. 21 Ohio State.

They’ve lost just once since — 86-74 against No. 14 Michigan State on Jan 21 — and Davis is a big reason why.

“He’s that kind of all-around player who can just make something happen,” says Tom Oates, who covered the Wisconsin program for more than 30 years as a columnist for the Wisconsin State Journal. “Their record in close games is 10-1 in games decided by six points or less and that’s no coincidence because Greg Gard has had a great philosophy in those games: get Johnny the ball and get out of the way.”

Oates puts Davis on the same level as some of the program’s all-time greats like Michael Finely, Devin Harris and Frank Kaminsky; transcendent players with versatile and well-rounded skillsets who have the ability to elevate the game’s of everyone around them.

“Guys like that simplify the game for everybody,” Oates says. “They make the game easier because they can do so much. So many players are limited … all players have limitations but the great ones have very few limitations and I think Johnny Davis is that kind of player. There’s really nothing he can’t do on the basketball court.”

The Badgers will lean heavily on Davis again Wednesday, when they travel to Champaign, Ill. to face No. 18 Illinois for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten and if history is any indication, the young star will be more than ready for the challenge.

“We can put the ball in his hands and let him make a play,” Gard said. “That is what you try to do. It’s not rocket science. He is a really good player. Give him the ball.”