Not sure if this was posted already, but here's a si minute highlight reel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwSv3H0S4

Offers from Pacific and UTEP http://www.insidesocal.com/prepsports/2010/08/boys-basketball-two-more-offer.html

Scout http://www.insidesocal.com/prepsports/2010/08/boys-basketball-two-more-offer.html

Wow - that would be a huge signing. Jonathan Davis is a great singer and frontman. He is also a well-spoken interviewee. 

Wait, this is a different Jonathan Davis? Sorry, my bad.

JONATHAN DAVIS: 

• Simi Valley, CA Hometown  
• Simi Valley High School
• 6'7"Height
• 215 lbsWeight
• —Overall Rank
• 125Position Rank
• SCOUTS RANK: 81

April, 2010: Davis has filled out some and now projects to the 4-position at the net level. He doesn't have great athleticism (bounce or quickness), but he can catch lobs over the top of a zone if he has enough momentum going to the rim. In addition, he has good hands, solid footwork, and a nice touch out to 15-feet. Davis is a solid prospect for the low to mid-major level due to his savvy and evolving skills. Defensively, he doesn't possess the lateral quickness to guard quicker 4-men so he may be only able to guarding 5-men. In addition, he still needs to play with greater energy at both ends and make more of an impact at both ends, but the talent is there to warrant a D-I scholarship.

Here are his per-game numbers from last season:

http://www.mapreps.com/athletes/MPoZZMP5F0SvZ2z9iWGvg/basketball-winter-09-10/stats-jonathan-davis.htm

Nice to see us nab someone who averaged a double-double heading into his senior year.  Hopefully the competition was decent.  Some room for improving on that 49% from the charity stripe though...

A birdy tipped me off, but "done"!:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/varsitytimesinsider/2010/09/boys-basketball-jonathan-davis-commits-to-george-washington.html

Mr. Davis is on his way to Foggy Bottom !!!!!   GW beat out UTEP, Colorado, Hawaii. Good  deal!!!

Seems like a very good signing.   His rating will likely grow during his senior season.

I like how Davis scored repeatively with either hand, taking his man off dribble going to his left or right.  Nice shooting touch from range. 

A little concerned about the review stating that Davis lacks lateral quickness and needs to maintain intensity on defense.  Closest comparison is probably Damian Hollis:  multiple skilled offensive force that sometimes drifted on defense.  Let's hope the coaching staff can get the most out of this recruit.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1123453

Dinos Trigonis' Pangos All-American camps have been churning out a lot of talent over the past few years. As of Tuesday night, another alumni of the camp is off to Division One thanks to Jonathan Davis decision to attend George Washington.

A 6-foot-7 forward from Simi Valley (Calif.) High, he visited Karl Hobbs' program over the weekend and decided he didn't need to look any further.

"Davis is a multi-skilled player that should fit very well within Coach Karl Hobbs' system," said Trigonis. "Davis picked the Colonials over Hawaii, Utah, Colorado, SMU, San Diego State, Pacific, Santa Clara, UC-Davis, and Cal State Northridge."

http://doublepump.com/news/elitewins64.html

http://www.mapreps.com/news/MNelvJmEd-SYQAcJSkrA/double-pump-elite-takes-adidas-super-64.htm

His SoCal travelling team (coached by his HS coach, Christian Aurand) won the under-17 Adidas Super 64 tournament in Vegas this summer.

Sealing the deal with the official in-home?:

"Long flight out to California. Short meeting and then back on the "Red Eye."
about 14 hours ago via ÜberTwitter"

http://twitter.com/gwcoachhobbs

FQ, don't equate "unheralded" to mean guys who can't play.  We all knew about the various reputations of these players prior to their arrival as freshmen.  However, I would argue two points: first, despite top 100 rankings for Omar, JR and Ricky (and maybe Maureece as well), it's not like our competition for these players were top 25 type programs.  For Mike, it was GW or Princeton.  Carl had more notoriety for receiving two Big-10 football scholarship offers than for his basketball offers.  Maureece, despite having broken Wilt's record, was a "questionable" recruit who had not received much by way of offers.  Omar's story has been well-documented.  This leads to the second point which is to say that the use of the word unheralded was made in comparison to programs who might find themselves with a #6 national ranking.  Almost always, a team ranked 6th in the country has several players who were recruited heavily by BCS schools.  By contrast, our #6 ranked team had players who were not recruited by and large by nationally prominent programs.  By this definition, our players are unheralded in comparison.

We should also not equate a #6 ranking with being one of the 6 best teams in the country either, MV.  As we all know, the ranking result is just a product of the sorry voting pattern historically used by the media and coaches (or whoever actually filled out the forms) : ie if a team is ranked and keeps winning (no matter who the beat) they move up the board if one of the higher ranked teams lose (regardless of the quality of the loss).

To anyone paying attention that year, GW was a solid squad but NOT one of the 10 best teams in the nation.  Their RPI, Sagerin and Pomeroy rankings of 20- 30s were alsways much more accuate.  GW moved up in the rankins strickly because they kept beating average to below average teams.

Davis has been upgraded by ESPN to a rating of 85 from 81 - still having not played a day of his senior season.

jr has posted here on several occasions that his high school had "certificates" and diplomas, and he received a diploma.

Again, looking at Pops, Mike, JR, Carl, Omar and Maureece, if all were in excellent academic standing in high school, the question remains whether top 25 type programs would have been recruiting these players based on basketball ability.  You can make a case for Maureece since he was such a prolific scorer and perhaps Omar since he was touted as a forward who could handle the ball well.  By and large, I'll stand by the statement that we were able to achieve top 25-type success with players who, as a collective group, were not or would not have been pursued by top 25 type programs.

HA HA HA!!!!

It's like we order pizza delivery every night.... over and over and over again.

Named to Third Team Best in the West by LA Daily News.

Almost hit a triple double playing PG in a win against last year's champs.

Omar redux

I hope Davis is ready to go.  The way things look now he will be starting for us next year and getting a ton of minutes.

 Sounds crazy but we may see him playing some point next year from what i've heard

I hope not Omar redux.  I really didn't like Omar (as a player).  I've come to appreciate him, as the years have moved forward, but I don't think I screamed about any player on that team more than I screamed about Omar.

I'm not sure from reading this thread whether it means Omar as you would've liked him to be or Omar as he was.  Omar was a player who made a lot happen but also made a lot of mistakes.  Regis was like that.  Johnson and Pellom could be like that if you kept them in the game despite their miscues.  I think by his junior season or so the things Omar  made happen clearly outweighed the mistakes.  Plus, he was playing on a team with a lot of guys who could erase his mistakes, so a lot of his role was really to pump things up.  A player like that being given the role next season could be a disaster if, like Omar at the beginning of his time here, he's just as likely to kick the ball or force an unnecessary charge as make an amazing play.  He could make it more fun though.  Fun is the one thing that money can't buy.

I was merely suggesting that we might once again prematurely fantasize about Davis as we did with Omar --a tall Magic Johnson type,  inducing match-up hell for opponents with his ball-handling skills making him capable of playing the point. Wasn't Omar's best position to say the least but it seemed like everyone jumped on him because he didn't equal the uninformed hype that was attributed to him before he arrived in FB. Seems like GW fans are always auditioning for a job in a bowling alley, setting up pins so they can get knocked down.

I always liked Omar, and always thought he got a raw deal on this board (probably because he wasn't the all-american some were expecting). If this guy is anything like Omar, we'll be a much better team, even if not right away.

Omar was forced to play PG because Elliot was a late non-qualifier (he was supposed to be in the same class). Omar played some PG in high school (not his primary position). Needless to say, he failed badly at PG in most of those games where he had to run the point for extended minutes. I recall him having troubling just getting the ball up the court and never even considering starting the offense once he crossed the half line. Oddly (and scarily enough), Regis ran a lot of point in high school which is something I really, really can't fathom.

While we are digressing, I thought Regis was one of the fastest players dribbling a basketball that I have ever seen.

Davis goes 18-10 and gets the MVP award as Simi Valley wins their own Tip-Off Tournament against Valencia and their BC bound star.

Davis continues to light it up.

His last game:

23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 7 blocked shots, 4 steals

His last 5 games average:

24.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game

Simi's Davis Elevates His Game

Am I mistaken, or is Simi's coach, Christian Aurand, a former GW recruit who went initially to Duke and then transfered to American for his final two years in the early 1990s?

Doesn't look like it.  YOu'd think they'd mention it in the bio.

There can't be that many Christian Aurands in the basketball world.

Now that I think about it, that was Christian Ast (sp?).  Thanks.

It would be interesting to see if any of the national recruiting sites will pick up on Davis now that his game is taking off.  He was rated at just 2 stars on ESPN before the season.  Does anyone think he is close to being a top 100 player nationally? 

It's also interesting that he plays point guard on his high school team.  Could he be our next pg?  You would have to think that Davis and Kromah would be a good pair in the backcourt. 

LA Fan,

It's possible that the recruiting sites would up their ratings of him - but they are mostly focused on uncommited guys.  There's not that much of a reason to update stuff on guys who are already commited much less commited to off the radar mid-majors.

Though he is playing some pg for Simi Valley I wouldn't imagine that he would be good enough in that area to play pg for gw.  He could certainly be considered for a point forward type role that Omar played in spots, though.

does anyone know how good the competition is that Davis plays against?

Davis is ranked as the 89th best PF in the 2011 class.  He would have to have a HUGE jump up to become one of the 100 best players rated for all positions. 

FQ,

Do you have a link to that LA Times report?

I saw Davis play against Westlake High.  Westlake is a conference foe.  Simi Valley won 54-52  and Davis had 22 points and 11 rebounds.  He also had seven turnovers and four assists.  He has 62 turnovers in 10 games including 15 in one game.

He plays both the one and five positions.  He is a good but not great player.  He will contribute immediately but not as a point guard in my opinion.  He is often double teamed and sometimes stripped trying to split the double team.  That accounts for many of his turnovers.  He also is shooting just 61% from the free throw line.

He was quoted as saying that he needs to cut down on his turnovers.  The competition is okay but none of the players I saw him play with or against are division one players.  There are other division one calibur players in the conference.

He will need to adjust his game to playing the three position (with some four).  He has a good, calm demeanor but did not show the type of fire like a Carl Eliot or Mike Hall.  In short, he will be a big help, but not a savior.

bobo, for link scroll up to 11/12/2010 post by BM.

la colonial, thanks for the update.

 First Team: 

 THIRD TEAM

So from this report, Jonathan Davis is rated as the 45th Best West Coast player. 

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_16545395?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com

 Seen him play...the kid is super talented..he's by far the best player on his team yet still puts up huge numbers. He probably won't start right away here but I expect him to have a Mikic like impact on next year's team..Sixth man type.

Copes, Lasan, Tony and Nemanja with Davis coming off the bench is very good 

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_17022225

Davis steps up when Simi Valley boys' basketball team needs it

More articles and pics from the Thousand Oaks win.

Went to see Davis for the second time this season.  He went the length of the court in 3.6 seconds to bank in the game winner for a 55-53 win over Agoura High.  His Simi Valley team clinched at least a tie for the conference championship with an 11-2 league record with one game to play.  They are 19-6 overall.

Simi has now won 11 games by four points or less and lost only one by four or less.  Davis is usually the go-to guy at the end of these close games.

He only scored 10 points in this game with eight coming in the second half.  He was double and triple teamed throughout and was a non-factor in the first quarter and not much of one in the second quarter.  He picked up the pace considerably in the second half and came close to a triple double although I do not have the official stats at the time I am writing this.  I am sure he had 12 or 13 rebounds and I counted nine blocks and about five assists.

He is very athletic and seems to have a good basketball IQ.  He did have two terrible turnovers in the first half but settled down in the second half.  His shot looks smooth but needs work as he shoots 58% from the line (sound familiar) but 57% from the field.  Tonight he was well below that percentage from the field.  

As I indicated in an earlier post, he is not an emotional player and seems to have a temperament more like Hollis or Diggs rather than Elliot, Hall or Pinnock.  He should be a solid D-1 player who will get playing time immediately.  

Thanks for the great report. We really need scorers -- and guys who want the ball in their hands at the end of the game.  My hope is that the constant double and triple teams offset the lower-level of competition such that he is ready to contribute here when he isn't the focus of opposing defenses.  Hopefully he still comes even if Hobbs isn't here.

Nice profile piece.

"I picked George Washington because coach showed a great interest in me... i love the coach... we have a good relationship.... and you know its a great school.... and i like the guys... i went out there and visited with the guys and it just felt right... and you know I'm going to have a great time out there... it's just a great school... im going to have the chance to come in and play when i go there ... it just feels like i can become a better player there...where i can work on my game and take it to the next level"

Sounds like we're going to get another four years with Damien Hollis.  Looking forward to it...

Actually with his size and advertised ability to handle the ball, he maybe the Omar type player we are looking for as referenced in the other thread.  With is versatility, I would expect him to get minutes right away.  Doesn't look like the level of competition is all that high thought if he is the only D1 recruit in the county...

Actually with his size and advertised ability to handle the ball, he maybe the Omar type player we are looking for as referenced in the other thread.  With is versatility, I would expect him to get minutes right away.  Doesn't look like the level of competition is all that high thought if he is the only D1 recruit in the county...

Worried about the level of competition he plays against, especially no D-1 recruits. But he sounds like a great kid from these complimentary articles.

And as FQ points out, being to go to guy in crunch time is something we really need.

too much east coast bias on this site.  the kid had offers from schools that can beat GW - often.  I do not see the downside and look forward to him attending GW

bigfan brought up a concern of mine what's Davis' competition? here's a video from soph and jr years. he looks real good but he's playing against and with guys who are 6" smaller than he is. the highlight reel showed lots of dunks but i dont think that's where his game will be in college. (i saw this months ago but didnt post as i didnt want to be accused of bashing.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwSv3Hx0SX4

Clearly Davis plays in a weak league BUT dribbling, shooting, passing, etc. translates into any league.  Another thing to consider - Davis was obviously Hobbs' top choice.  I believe that Hobbs absolutely is a great judge of talent.  He may not get to have his pick of the talent - but he can recognize what he wants.  If you look at the players he has tried to recruit at GW over the last years (and failed to land) it's easy to see that he has excellent taste.  If he didn't REALLY like Davis he wouldn't have pushed to lock him up so early.  Last year at this point, I don't think any of our three players had committed yet.  Obviously Jon Loyd was Hobbs' top target at PG, and there were a couple of other guys that were considered before Hobbs considered Guest.  Will Sheehy (a freshman at Indiana now and owner of a monster highlight on Sportscenter recently) was Hobbs' top choice at the spot that Fitzgerald landed.  The two guys at Harvard who were teammates of Chris' were also higher on Hobbs' list.

So to me it says a lot that Davis was Hobbs' first choice. 

thinker, Hobbs is a great judge of talent? how come we end up with so many shitty recruiting classes?maybe he is a great judge of talent just cant get them to sign.  i thought Copes was Hobbs first choice or are you just giving credit where credit is due.....Uncle Roland. i know Hobbs didnt screw it up. i'd bet that if KH were to leave and Uncle Roland were named coach we'd see Copes in a GW uniform. how's Loyd working out shooting 28.5% FG and 25% 3pointers? Loyd was KH's top PG target!

 These are valid concerns but you have to remember that Davis plays on an AAU circuit against the best players in the country. While AAU is clearly not the same (no defense, less intensity) it's not like he's never played against guys his size before. This would be a bigger concern if he was a big man who dominating purely on his size but this is a 6'7 kid playing point forward and beating double and triples every night. Very exciting prospect. 

Yes newtman, Hobbs is a great judge of talent.  Take a breath and read my post before spouting.  Obviously he doesn't often get the guys he wants - but you have to figure that almost all of the players he wants are going to be very good players.  I'm not even saying he is a good recruiter (discussion for another time) - just that he knows talent.  I know that Loyd isn't having a great freshman year, but I'd venure to say that of all positions to trust Hobbs on - PG is one of them.

And what does Copes have to do with anything being discussed here?

My point is a simple one - people should take some comfort in believing that Davis could be a really good player by the fact that Hobbs wanted him so badly.

thinker, Hobbs is a great judge of talent? how come we end up with so many shitty recruiting classes?maybe he is a great judge of talent just cant get them to sign.  i thought Copes was Hobbs first choice or are you just giving credit where credit is due.....Uncle Roland. i know Hobbs didnt screw it up. i'd bet that if KH were to leave and Uncle Roland were named coach we'd see Copes in a GW uniform. how's Loyd working out shooting 28.5% FG and 25% 3pointers? Loyd was KH's top PG target!

thinker, just for the record i did not post the same BS twice......blame it on the site's posting problems. i mentioned Copes because you said 'Another thing to consider - Davis was obviously Hobbs' top choice.' i thought Copes was first choice or perhaps that was a given.  40+ experience tells me that when i see it on the court i'll believe it although he looks like a player.

 GIve Hobbs credit on Copes...he was on him and offered a scholarship well before he shot up the center rankings. If he had been late it's doubtful that Copes would be coming here, uncle or not. 

To his credit, Hobbs offered early on Copes.

But other than that, let's face it: genetics was the significant factor in this decision.

Which probably was a wise one from a family perspective and certainly in our minds.

But KH didn't beat the bushes to spot Erik in 9 or 10th grade/.

Another profile of Davis and Simi.

Simi Valley falls short in defensive playoff showdown

Simi Valley boys' basketball contains Garrity, but not Edison

Wins League MVP.

Simi Valley coach resigns.  Davis interview mentions he's attending GW.

 You've seen the John Kopriva now meet Johnathan Davis...like the t-shirt

 I'd say he's 6'7 in very tall shoes.

BLOCKHEAD!

That guy doing the interviews is tall...

 i'd prefer he stick to using his hands for blocks.  scratch that i'ld take them any way we can get them.

 Looks like Kopriva is a bit taller than Davis comparing the two videos but it's not dramatic. Regardless, welcome to both. Work hard, have a good year learning the ropes. 

rocket, I think Kopriva is taller than him on paper as well.  I sure hope he does not get home sick.  He looks like a nice young man - both him and Kopriva.

NOtta- i thought the same thing.  He is a long way from home, and seems to really love California.  He seems very appreciative and happy to be in DC and at GW.  I'm looking forward to watching him play.

 Is this the same Jonathan Davis that is on the team this year?