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Did Toronto Draft Chris Bosh’s Replacement?
The University of North Carolina is a fertile breeding ground for college basketball players wanting to play in the NBA. This year, Ed Davis decided to forego his last two years of eligibility and enter his name into the NBA Draft. He was just drafted 13th overall by the Toronto Raptors for his rebounding and defensive skills, but some predicted him to go even higher. Davis is listed at 6’10’’, 225 lbs. and is a left-handed power forward whose stock dropped due to him breaking his left wrist late last season. Having played at UNC will definitely help his transition to playing in the NBA. While at UNC, he was playing against other All-Americans and each team they played gave it their best because beating UNC is not an easy task.
A player of Davis’ caliber was needed in Toronto because they are not sure if Chris Bosh is going to be there next season. Losing a franchise player isn’t easy to get over so that definitely played a factor in drafting Davis. Being a great shot blocker and rebounder seems to translate well into the NBA. Having a great work ethic and playing alongside Andrea Bargnani will definitely assist him in his progression as well. As to how good he will be remains to be seen.Ed Davis joined 590 the Fan in Toronto to talk about what he thinks fans are going to see from him in his rookie season, his thoughts on possibly playing alongside Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani, and whether he thinks that playing at a big program like UNC helps college players more so than a smaller program.
What he thinks fans are going to see from him in his rookie season:
“Just know that every night I am going to be on the glass rebounding, blocking shots, running the floor being a real energy guy and do a lot of stuff on the offensive end. Just know that I will be able to rely on my defensive ability just to get me through even when I am struggling on offense.”
His thoughts on possibly playing alongside Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani:
“I think whatever happens with Chris Bosh or whatever with the team, I will be able to help. It would be great to play alongside with Chris Bosh. He is a great player, everyone knows that. Or if not, it would be great to play alongside Bargnani or whoever is there so I am just looking forward to it.”
Which UNC alumni did he get to know the most while playing in college:
“That is a tough question. I talk to almost all of the guys in the league that are from North Carolina. People that I talk to the most is Sean May or Marvin Williams. I talk to them the most out of all the guys. They really helped me throughout this process and just gave me advice and really got me through it and that is a great thing.”
Whether he thinks that playing at a big program like UNC helps college players more so than a smaller program:
“One with the spotlight, Carolina gets a lot of attention than some of the NBA teams, if not more. The practice, every night you are going against great players and then in games you are getting some of the team’s best shots. At some of the smaller schools it doesn’t work like that. You are that much better than the next person and you sort of take days off because you are that much better. You know at Carolina that is different and that every night you just have to bring it.”
On being in shape and how different the NBA season is from the college season:
“Yeah I mean it is three times longer. I am just going to continue to get stronger. Not so much I need to put on 20 pounds, but just continue to get stronger because I want to stay explosive, stay quick off the ground to stay quick with my feet. It is all about just continuing to get stronger and be able to take the pounding of a long NBA season and just try to stay healthy the whole year.”
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