Baron Davis
Drafted by:
Charlotte, Round 1, pick 3.

 
EXPERT ANALYSIS
  "The key word to describe to Baron Davis is explosive. Davis has great open court skills and is a fearless player, and more of a pure point guard than Steve Francis, Jason Terry or William Avery. Even after blowing out his knee in the 1998 NCAA Tournament against Michigan, Davis bounced back to show his tremendous leaping ability and brutish strength with the ball. He attacks the basket and is a good open court passer with an above-average handle. I believe that Davis ball skills are underrated, and have been somewhat devalued because of his wildness at times and his inability to harness his emotions.

In college, Davis struggled with fouls and three point shooting. Because he did not show discipline on the defensive end, Davis found himself on the bench saddled with fouls. Davis hounded ballhandlers without regard for fouls, and paid the price for it in some important games. Davis is a guard that could be in the mold of a Jason Kidd. He is athletic and strong, but does not shoot the ball well from the perimeter, and is not at his best in a halfcourt setting. Davis plays best with the ball in his hands, and does not do well without dominating the ball. He has a good work ethic and can run all day. The questions: Can Davis shoot the ball from the perimeter? Can he do the simple things needed of a lead guard, or will he always be looking to accomplish the spectacular?"
-- ESPN's Jay Bilas

College: UCLA
Height: 6-2 ½
Weight: 210 pounds
Position: Guard
Age: 20 (April 13, 1979)
Birthplace: Los Angeles, Calif.

Career highlights

  • Early-entry candidate for the 1999 NBA draft
  • Named Third-Team All-America by The Associated Press as a sophomore
  • His 145 career steals rank 10th on the Bruin's career steals list

    College highlights
    Sophomore

  • Started the final 26 games of the season and team was 19-7 with him in the lineup
  • Averaged 30.7 minutes (2nd on the team), 15.9 points (1st on team), 3.6 rebounds (4th on team), 5.1 assists (No.1 on team) and 2.5 steals (No.1 on team)
  • Averaged 17.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.7 steals in Pac-10 action
  • Missed the first four games of the season because of an injury suffered in the 1998 NCAA Tournament (torn ACL, left knee)
  • Scored in double-figures in 23 consecutive games and led the team in scoring a team-high 13 times
  • Had 68 steals on the season
  • Had 21 points and four steals in game vs. Arizona
  • Scored a career-high 27 points vs. California

    Freshman

  • Selected as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
  • Started 31 of 32 games played, missing the NCAA Tournament game vs. Kentucky due to a torn ACL in left knee suffered in second round win over Michigan
  • Was Bruin's No.4 scorer (11.7 ppg) and No.4 rebounder (4.0 rpg) and led the team in assists (5.0) apg and steals (2.4 apg)
  • The 77 steals in 1997-98 rank second in school history behind Cameron Dollar's 82 in 1997
  • Scored in double figures in 19 games, including seven of his last nine
  • Averaged 10 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 assists in NCAA Tournament games vs. Miami and Michigan
  • Scored at least 20 points on three occasions
  • Led the team in assists 18 times, including 13 of his final 20 games
  • Scored 21 points vs. Washington State and 13 vs. North Carolina
  • Had a season-high 22 points vs. UAB
  • Grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds vs. UNLV
  • Recorded a season-high nine assists vs. Oregon State
  • Fouled out of nine games and averaged 3.5 fouls per game

    College statistics
    SEASON G FGM FGA PCT FTM FTA PCT REB AST PTS AVG
    SEASONGFGMFGAPCTFTMFTAPCTREBASTPTSAVG
    1997-9832137259.52975111.67612916137311.7
    1998-9927150312.48194157.5999713842915.9
    TOTALS59287571.503169268.63122629980213.6
    Three-point field goals: 1997-98, 24-for-78 (.308); 1998-99, 35-for-102 (.343). Totals, 59-for-180 (.328).











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