BARON DAVIS

'Baron Walter Louis Davis' (born April 13 1979, in Compton, California) is an American basketball player currently starting at point guard for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. He began playing basketball at the age of five. Later, Davis became a star at Crossroads School and UCLA. Davis was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the number three pick in the 1999 NBA Draft.

Contents

High school and college

NBA career

Profile

References

External links

High school and college

Davis' grandmother and guardian, Lela Nicholson, was instrumental in pushing him to play basketball. With her encouragement, he eventually earned a basketball scholarship to play at Crossroads School, a prestigious private school in Santa Monica, California, where he rubbed elbows with the children of some of California's elite (one of his classmates was actress Kate Hudson).[1]
At Crossroads School, the charismatic Davis became a budding star, growing a surprising four inches between his sophomore and junior seasons, going from 5'10" to an athletic 6'2" in that span. Now able to dunk the basketball, Davis used his trademark explosiveness and skills to rack up numerous honors on the basketball court, including leading his team to the Championship over perennial prep powerhouse Christ The King HS (Queens, NY) at the prestigious Beach Ball Classic tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC. Perhaps the highlight of his season, however, was his selection to play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game in 1997 (where he won the Slam Dunk Contest despite being the shortest player in the competition) and played with future NBA players Elton Brand; Shane Battier; Larry Hughes, and Ron Artest.
After a highly contested recruiting battle that saw Kansas, Georgia Tech and UCLA (among other schools) in hot pursuit for his services, Davis selected UCLA as his school of choice, so that he could play in front of his family and friends. During this time, Davis was involved in a minor scandal pertaining to his driving a 1991 Chevy Blazer that was a gift from his sister, then a UCLA employee. The car was sold to her by a member of Jim Harrick's family. At the time, Harrick was the UCLA men's basketball coach, presenting both a conflict of interest and a potential recruiting violation, since rumor had it that the car was purchased below market value. The incident was cleared up when it was discovered that Davis' sister had, in fact, bought the car at the listed blue-book price. Davis then enrolled at UCLA without problem. Davis was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and made the All-American Third Team by his sophomore year.[2]
In Davis' two years at UCLA, he averaged 13.6 points and 5.1 assists for the Bruins. While coming down from a dunk during an NCAA Tournament game his freshman year, he tore his Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Surprisingly, though, he made a full recovery the next season and seemed to have regained nearly all of the speed, quickness and explosiveness he had before the injury while doing enough on the basketball court to warrant his declaring for the 1999 NBA Draft after his sophomore campaign. Davis is the godfather of The Game's son.

NBA career

Davis was the third pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. In Davis' first year, he backed up Eddie Jones and David Wesley, but by Davis' second year he started all 82 games for the Hornets. Davis would lead Charlotte to a the second round of the playoffs in back-to-back years, the first being a sweep of the Miami Heat in the 2001 NBA Playoffs and the next year defeating the Orlando Magic. In the summer of 2002 the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans. Davis would lead the Hornets back to the playoffs, but the next two years were first round exits. Injuries would plague Davis for much of his tenure in New Orleans, although he made the NBA All-Star teams in 2002 and 2004.
He played for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.^[1]
On February 24 2005, Davis was traded from the Hornets to the Golden State Warriors for guard Speedy Claxton and veteran forward Dale Davis after tension with the Hornets coaching staff and several nagging injuries. The move created one of the more potent backcourts in the NBA with Davis and star guard Jason Richardson. It also saw Davis' return to California where he craved to return to since his college days in UCLA.
After two seasons in which the Warriors underachieved under coach Mike Montgomery, the Warriors hired former coach Don Nelson for the 2006-2007 season. His high scoring offensive system was designed to fit Davis uptempo style. Although Davis suffered through knee pain and undergoing surgery during the season, he still led the Warriors to their first playoffs since 1994. Golden State won the series against the top seeded Dallas Mavericks 4-2, making them the 1st No. 8 seed to beat a No.1 seed since the NBA changed the 1st round from a 5-game series to a 7-game series. It was numerically the largest upset in the history of the NBA playoffs, with the 67-15 Mavericks having a record of 25 games better than the 42-40 Warriors. Davis averaged 25 points in the series. In the following series, against the Utah Jazz, the Warriors' run ended in 5 games.
Baron Davis' performance in the 2007 NBA Playoffs has drawn praise from basketball analysts and fans alike, with a few claiming Davis to be the best player in the post-season.[3] Davis' playoff highlights included numerous acrobatic layups, a half-court three-pointer at the buzzer, and one of the most memorable dunks in NBA Playoff history over Andrei Kirilenko. In fact, Davis' one-handed jam over Kirilenko occupied half, or five of the top ten plays, on ESPN's Sportscenter that evening. Yet, the Utah Jazz eliminated the undersized Warriors 4 games to 1.
[4] Davis averaged 25.3 points, 6.5 assists, 2.9 steals, and 4.5 rebounds per game in the 2007 Playoffs.[5]
Baron Davis is currently looking for a six-year contract extension with the Golden State Warriors.

Profile

Davis is an all-purpose point guard who can score, pass and drive the lane. In addition, Baron is one of the most powerful point guards in the league, allowing him to grab and secure rebounds, and then advance up the court. His physical strength, scoring ability, and playmaking skills make him an occasional triple-double threat. While Davis is an above-average passer and play maker, he is also seen as a shoot-first type of player. In the last three years, Davis has attempted 7.1 three point shots per game, while only making 32.5% of them. The biggest knock on Davis has been his injury problems, which have caused him to miss 115 games over the last four years -- despite not missing a single game his first two seasons. During the 2005-2006 season, Davis was limited to 52 games with several injuries. Despite the injuries he collected nearly 9 assists per game, second best in the NBA. Davis recorded a career-high 18 assists on November 17, 2006. He is also an above-average defender, as he led the NBA in steals, averaging 2.14 steals per game.[6] during the 2006-2007 season.

References

1. 2002 USA Basketball

External links

★ Baron Davis - Official site

★ Player Profile @ NBA.com

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★ Baron Davis Playerfile, Stats, Caricatures

★ LA Stars A Midsummer Night's Dream Official Site