Who was better in college? 2011-12 Anthony Davis vs. 2018-19 Zion Williamson

[Im Still Ballin]

This is an interesting question. Both guys were unique in their play style/archetype and had GOAT-level freshman seasons.

Davis played the Bill Russell role, focusing on defense, rebounding, and finishing plays in the paint. Rare for a player to dominate like this, with defense, in the modern era. Zion? How do I describe his game? Like a young Charles Barkley: an undersized PF paint beast. A high-motor human cannonball who played both ends of the court.

2011-12 Anthony Davis:
- 14.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.4 spg, 4.7 bpg, 1.0 topg
- 62.3% FG, 70.9% FT, 65.4% TS
- 17.2 BPM (9.1 OBPM; 8.1 DBPM)

2018-19 Zion Williamson:
- 22.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.1 spg, 1.8 bpg, 2.4 topg
- 68% FG, 64% FT, 70.2% TS
- 20.1 BPM (13.4 OBPM; 6.7 DBPM)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDi3N3wxhdM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIzOGzyxLLY&pp=ygUXemlvbiB3aWxsaWFtc29uIGNvbGxlZ2U%3D

[Carbine]

If you seen both you know the answer is Davis. His defense was the best I've ever seen at the college level in big games in the last 20 years.

[ShawkFactory]

If you seen both you know the answer is Davis. His defense was the best I've ever seen at the college level in big games in the last 20 years.

Probably so. Although with Zion's upside I'm not sure that he isn't picked first in a draft between them.

[Im Still Ballin]

Great comment about AD's college season:


His identity in college was completely different than his current play style. He was so raw and untapped in Kentucky, but at the same time, still dominated the game, more specifically on the defensive end.

Dikembe Mutombo was known for blocks in the 90s. Ben Wallace made it a staple in the peak of his career 2003-2006. Then there was Marcus Camby but he didn’t bring it to the mainstream spotlight. Dwight Howard had some great blocks compared with Hakeem’s touch blocks, where he keeps them inbounds, but AD even brought the popularity of it to a different magnitude.

Seeing AD dominate with blocks in college was electric. He didn’t even have the offensive arsenal that he does today, it was all blocks, raw instincts/ability, length, second jumps/outback’s and good positioning. He made all those simple fundamentals super gravitating to watch, and was the biggest ncaa prospect of his era. Such a pure ncaa career, even though for just one year

[gengiskhan]

Both NCAA LBJ and NCAA Kobe >> NCAA AD and NCAA Zion imo.

Kobe won 1998 NCAA College Player of the Year over Vince.

College LBJ was just a beast imo.

[Im Still Ballin]

High praise.


"I'll tell you exactly what Anthony Davis is -- he's a young Bill Russell ... And Russell was by far, and will always be, the most valuable player ever in sport." -- Bob Knight, former college coach


"Blocking shots is about more than just blocking shots. JaVale McGee was second in the league in blocked shots this year, but no one really thinks of him as a great defender. He's just one of those guys who's trying to block everything -- getting a bunch of goaltending calls, getting a bunch of fouls. Davis is the opposite of that." -- Kevin Pelton, author, Basketball Prospectus


Still, it's how Davis blocks shots that has captivated scouts. Of his 186 blocks, 144 were kept in play and 103 went to his teammates -- leading directly to 105 points.

"Davis is a super-efficient shot blocker, which is something that people don't really think about," Pelton says. "He blocks shots, but he's also not constantly challenging every shot recklessly so that he's taking himself out of defensive rebounding. Kentucky was really good at shutting down points in the paint and had a very good two-point percentage. So those are the same kinds of statistical markers that a traditional paint presence would have; it's just kind of you've got this on top of that."


It's one thing when Knight says Davis "has one of the same things that made Russell the greatest of all time ... his ability to take a shot away and yet get the ball for his team. He doesn't just swat it up into the bleachers." Knight, after all, can be prone to hyperbole.


One might expect former Georgetown coach John Thompson, who played with Russell and knows a few things about bringing along college big men, to be more circumspect. But even Thompson refuses to dismiss the comparisons. "Davis' arms don't always seem connected to his body in a stiff way," Thompson starts, by way of praise. "A lot of guys can block shots, but they collide into you with their body. Russell had the ability to go into the air, but he also could manipulate his arms in a manner to prevent from fouling. What remains to be seen is if Davis is able to do it strategically and with the mental approach that Russell had to blocking shots."

[warriorfan]

High praise.

Can remember a few of these quotes, talk about nostalgia, damn.