Kentucky’s Anthony Davis completes improbable rise to top, taken No. 1 in Draft
In business and in sports, the ability to make the right decisions at all times is of utmost importance. On Thursday night, the New Orleans Hornets decisively showed their organization’s faith in University of Kentucky star Anthony Davis by selecting him with the first overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.
Davis’s college resume supports New Orleans’ choice to take Davis as the No. 1 pick in the draft. After all, Davis did lead Kentucky to a national title in 2012, was the 2012 tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and won numerous national awards for his regular season play. There was never any doubt that Davis would go first in the draft – this year, that is.
Just a few years ago, however, Davis was one of hundreds of unknown hoopsters who simply loved to play basketball. That he would eventually become the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft was laughable, as ESPN detailed in a column. Davis played his high school career for Perspectives Charter School, an institution that played in a lesser-regarded high school athletic league in Chicago. He was average-sized in the basketball world through his first two years of high school, standing a few inches over 6 feet by the end of his sophomore year.
But Davis did not remain average for long. He went through a growth spurt, shooting up six inches by his senior year and forcing scouts to notice him despite playing in a league that did not attract much scouting attention. In case his play for Perspectives Charter was not attractive enough, Davis earned more publicity by playing AAU basketball as well.
By 2010, Davis was one of the gems of Chicago high school basketball. He was the one scouts had missed in the past, but would notice in the future. Shortly before Davis committed to Kentucky in the summer of 2010, the Chicago Sun-Times high school sports staff published a mea culpa of sorts.
“The Chicago Sun-Times covered nearly 700 boys high school basketball games last season,” wrote Michael O’Brien of the Sun-Times in the spring of 2010. “Anthony Davis, who just might be the best high school player in the country, didn’t play in any of them.”
At the time, Davis was projected as the No. 6 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. But as Davis has proven time and time again, he is a player who continuously rises above expectations.
