Missouri adds BYU guard Kennard Davis Jr. from the transfer portal

After a two-week wait, Missouri has recovered its ball-handler — successful theory.

On Friday afternoon, BYU defender Kennard Davis committed to nan Tigers, becoming nan 4th transportation summation this offseason pinch Jamier Jones, Bryson Tiller and Jaylen Carey. Moving ahead, nan mobility is whether coach Dennis Gates and his unit further supplement Davis, who projected to slot successful arsenic a combo defender successful MU’s rotation.

Davis, a St. Louis autochthonal and Vashon product, was besides firmly connected nan Tigers’ radar a play agone aft he entered nan transportation portal pursuing a stellar sophomore run pinch Southern Illinois. Instead, he coiled up astatine BYU, wherever he averaged 8.5 points and 2.7 rebounds while starting each crippled for nan Cougars.

But arsenic you’ll spot successful a moment, this homecoming besides comes pinch a important alteration successful Davis’ occupation description.

Again, nan occupation Davis had successful Provo is not nan 1 he’s apt to return up erstwhile he settles into Columbia.

Around nan mediate of January successful Davis’ sophomore season, SIU coach Scott Nagy’s squad sat astatine 5-11 wide and was winless successful nan Missouri Valley. So, he made a logical choice: he converted Davis to a constituent defender and put nan shot successful his hands.

Turns retired nan domiciled suited Davis well. He averaged 16.3 points per crippled and landed connected nan All-MVC 2nd team. It went truthful well, successful fact, that MU sized him up arsenic an summation last spring. But ultimately, Davis landed pinch BYU, which was adding Rob Wright III and A.J. Dybantsa to its roster — and beautiful overmuch scotched immoderate conception that Davis would person a awesome imaginative role.

That’s backed up by a cursory look astatine play-type data.

As you tin see, Davis spent a batch of his nights playing disconnected nan shot for nan Cougars arsenic a 3-and-D master for coach Kevin Young. It wasn’t until defender Richie Saunders went down pinch a torn ACL that Davis saw extended work arsenic a combo guard, but that was mostly successful sanction only. Wright and Dybantsa still powered nan Cougars.

Drilling deeper into Davis’ floor plan doesn’t excavate immoderate breathtaking insights. As you tin spot below, his astir communal touches connected discourtesy were spotting up from deep.

What we attraction about, however, is really Davis performed while moving nan show astatine SIU. Moving forward, nan mobility will beryllium really cleanly he tin replicate those efforts while wearing achromatic and gold.

Over his past twelve games pinch nan Salukis, he averaged astir 8.5 on-ball touches per game, which are made up of pick-and-rolls, isolations and handoffs. That spike coincided pinch Davis putting up 18.4 points per game. Now, Davis could beryllium a small turnover-prone, but it doesn’t wholly undermine nan assemblage of activity he put together.

When nan play wrapped up, Davis classed successful nan 87th percentile nationally for ratio successful pick-and-rolls, per Synergy Sports. Crucially, it aligns pinch what Davis produced while astatine BYU, wherever he averaged 1.08 points erstwhile attacking from a shot screen. And sloppy of wherever Davis has plied his trade, his champion limb is punishing defenders who duck nether a shot screen.

It’s besides a accomplishment that MU tin usage to anchor his game.

When Davis was decisive astatine SIU, nan results could beryllium bountiful. The action didn’t request to beryllium complex, either. Simple resistance screens, butt screens, and step-ups could springiness him immoderate breathing room, and Davis understood really to usage his dribble efficaciously to create abstraction and rhythm.

While Davis doesn’t get a ton of assistance connected his jumper, he consistently establishes a coagulated base, and from nan waist up, his merchandise is compact and fluid. You mightiness want his pick-up to beryllium a tad quicker, but Davis seldom wasted motion. And against driblet coverage, he would measurement backmost slightly. When a defender fought complete nan top, he utilized a broadside dribble to create much space.

Yet there’s besides an important caveat. Davis’ pull-ups weren’t astir truthful potent erstwhile he worked his measurement into nan mid-range. Instead, he improved erstwhile he relied connected his spot aft turning nan area to spell downhill.

In nan Valley, he could easy bump defenders off. Even erstwhile large men sat successful driblet coverage, it was difficult to support Davis from getting wherever he wanted to go. And moreover if he didn’t person astatine nan cup, Davis’ free-throw complaint (48.5%) meant location was a decent chance he’d toed nan statement for free throws.

Now, SIU would displacement Davis disconnected nan ball, but nan results travel pinch a captious caveat. He knocked down 12 of 51 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers pinch a manus successful his face, while he was 20 of 38 erstwhile near alone. That’s a important capacity delta. It besides aligns pinch Davis’ tendencies past play astatine BYU. So, erstwhile a defender remains attached, they tin eat into Davis efficiency.

What’s unclear is what level of facilitating Davis mightiness bring to nan table.

At SIU, he posted a 14.5 assistance rate, according to KenPom. That’s what we’d expect from a perimeter subordinate who will move nan shot on during nan people of a possession, but good beneath what we spot from players teeing up teammates. Meanwhile, Davis checks successful pinch a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio crossed 3 seasons. Again, that doesn’t fresh nan floor plan of a shot handler mounting nan table.

The bottommost line? Davis has flashed existent imaginable arsenic a bigger creator, but he’s not a plug-and-play answer. There’s still an constituent of projection progressive — and uncertainty. MU’s occupation is blending nan 2 versions of Davis we’ve seen astatine SIU and BYU into a secondary handler who tin tally immoderate PNRs to onslaught mismatches while shooting it consistently capable disconnected nan drawback to support gaps unfastened for Jason Crowe Jr. and Aaron Rowe.

A akin opposition exists connected nan protect extremity connected nan floor.

Last season, Davis performed good arsenic an on-ball defender. Yet he besides classed successful nan fourth percentile successful defender spot-ups, nan by-product of letting opposing shooters sound down astir 46 percent of threes disconnected nan catch.

So, erstwhile we do a line-by-line information of Davis’ protect profile, it tin time off you emotion conflicted. There’s capable grounds to make you deliberation he’s nan benignant of beingness point-of-attack defender MU needs, particularly pinch 2 smaller guards successful Crowe and Rowe that tin beryllium targeted successful ball-screens. However, that conception is undercut if Davis routinely breaks down arsenic an off-ball defender.

That’s wherever movie — and further discourse — comes successful handy.

Let’s commencement pinch Davis’ capacity successful spot-ups. He defended 50 spot-up threes past season, allowing a 52 percent clip. Sifting tape, though, shows that a twelve of those triples were fired instantly aft an violative rebound, a business wherever nan level is surgery aft a defense crashes nan solid and finds itself successful scramble mode. Unfortunately for Davis, opponents knocked down 8 of those daggers.

There’s besides a spot of variance astatine play, too.

In man-to-man defense, Davis had to defender 9 threes taken aft he stunted into a spread — usually toward nan nail — to slow down a driver, and past retrieve backmost to his man. Well, opponents buried 7 of those shots, including 4 wherever Davis did a reliable occupation closing retired connected clip and nether control.

Obviously, Davis isn’t wholly vindicated by these clips, but they do springiness america a amended consciousness of really those looks came about. Last play was a awesome regression from his capacity guarding spot-ups astatine SIU, wherever he classed successful nan 58th percentile nationally, and mightiness hint astatine other, much nuanced explanations for objectively putrid metrics.

Crucially, it’s besides offset by genuinely bully activity stymying pick-and-rolls. Davis was peculiarly effective connected those runs successful nan mediate of nan floor, allowing only 0.722 PPP, per Synergy Sports. For example, opponents made conscionable 3 of 16 threes taken disconnected nan dribble aft utilizing a precocious PNR, and connected film, we tin spot that screeners struggled to bump Davis off. He was besides dogged astir trying to conflict complete nan apical and enactment connected.

Davis’ physicality and magnitude could besides impact a shot handler’s imagination erstwhile they effort to move nan ball. He forced a turnover 19.1 percent of nan clip erstwhile defending a PNR, nan benignant of disruption MU could usage adjacent play to boost a modulation onslaught that mislaid immoderate juice.

Evidence tells america that Davis is reliable capable erstwhile he tin leverage his size and spot to fuss shot handlers. But we can’t wholly disregard nan imaginable reddish emblem successful his off-ball defense. Opponents consistently recovered occurrence connected catch-and-shoots and attacking closeouts going right. That’s peculiarly worrisome fixed MU’s penchant complete nan past mates of seasons for conceding 3-pointers while trying to seal disconnected nan paint.

For MU, nan stake is that they’ve done capable to upgrade their wide talent and athleticism connected nan helping and successful nan frontcourt to supply backstop perimeter defenders to nan constituent wherever those jumpers won’t travel truthful easily.