Behind the Brow: A Look at What Makes Anthony Davis So Special

Kentucky freshman phenom Anthony Davis doesn’t quite look like your typical basketball superstar. To be honest, he looks a lot more like a muppet (think Kermit meets Statler), a Cyclops with two eyes, a basketball mutant McPoyle twin (Davis even has his own twin sister named Antoinette), Bert from Sesame Street, Frida Kahlo, a Pompeiian lady, Maggie Simpson’s rival Gerald Samson, Squilliam Fancyson, or a young George Bush.

And that’s not to say that all people with unibrows look alike. But there definitely is something about the select few who allow the monobrow to materialize on their forehead that makes it difficult for the masses to notice the rest of their identity. In the case of 6’10 PF/C Anthony Davis, this unibrow effect has blocked the public from fully appreciating what a unique and remarkable talent Davis is. The truth is, Anthony Davis really needs and deserves more buzz (pun intended).

It’s perhaps best to view Davis first from a statistical standpoint to see just how rare of a player he is. He shoots over 63% from the field, 71% from the line, commits less than one turnover per game, grabs double digit rebounds, gets 1.3 steals per game, leads the NCAA in dunks, and has set an SEC record by blocking just under 5 shots per game.

He is a model of efficiency on both ends of the floor. On Kentucky’s offense, he is only the 5^th most used player and doesn’t need to control possessions to have an impact  (I'm looking at you Crapmelo Anthony). On defense, he averages less than two fouls per game, displaying an astounding discipline and technique with his shot blocking, seldom falling for shot fakes and avoiding contact by attacking the ball after it has left the shooter’s hands.

Davis’s bilateral versatility is another hallmark of his well-rounded game. There’s a good chance you’ve heard the story about how Anthony Davis was an unrecruited 6’2 guard known for his outside shooting as a sophomore, then magically grew 8 inches by the end of his senior year without losing hardly any of his coordination or guard skills. Davis has the ability to bring the ball up the floor and hit the midrange jumper with consistency on offense, and his combination of length and quickness makes him a lethal perimeter defender as well as one of the best interior shot blockers in recent memory. His shot blocking skill is remarkable not just because he is so good at staying out of foul trouble, but also because he blocks shots all over the floor, not just inside.

Analysts are throwing a bunch of names out there to try to grasp exactly what kind of player Anthony Davis is by making comparisons to some of the greatest big men of our era.

Davis’s humble, collected demeanor on the floor and excellence on both sides of the ball remind some of Tim Duncan. Perhaps the best indicator of Davis’s uncommon humility is his infamous brow, which signifies a lack of personal adornment and superficial obsession that has to be viewed as utterly refreshing in the context of the modern image-obsessed athlete (I’m looking at you LeBron). Timmy D is a fair comparison, and after all, in a few months, Davis will join Duncan and Kenyon Martin as the only players in basketball history to win both the awards for NCAA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and then be drafted first overall to the NBA. For someone who just turned 19 this March and has been in the spotlight for such a short time, it’s nothing short of extraordinary that Davis has carried himself so well.

Others point to Kevin Garnett as a potential comparison, as both he and Davis possess an intense defensive ferocity, a long, lanky frame, impressive midrange jumpshots for players their size, and the ability to bring the ball up the court like a guard. Davis brought the ball up the court for his high school team, and while his jumper still definitely could use some work (his outside shooting percentages, especially from 3 point range, are somewhat subpar), he has a fluid shooting motion and should only get more consistent as he matures and grows into his body.

Others still point to Davis’s personal favorite basketball player whom he idolizes, Kevin Durant, as a comparison. Once Anthony Davis wins the player of the year award, he will join Durant as the only other freshman to be honored with the Naismith trophy. Durant stands 6’9 with a 7’5 wingspan, and Davis is 6’10 with a 7’4 wingspan, and both are noticeably thin compared to their fellow players, as Davis only weighs 220 pounds and Durant had to do some considerable bulking up in the NBA just to reach 235. However, Durant is a cold blooded scorer who could win more scoring titles than Jordan by the time he’s retired, and Davis is not an elite scorer (yet) by any stretch of the imagination, only scoring more than 20 points seven times in 38 games this year.

Another tendency among experts is to compare Anthony Davis to Calipari’s last gifted big man, Marcus Camby, whom he coached at UMass in the 1990s. The similarities between Camby and Anthony Davis do seem uncanny: Both were underappreciated 6’2 guards after their sophomore year who grew 8 inches by the time they reached college, both became dominant shot blockers and defenders, and both were coached by Calipari in college as well. Calipari acknowledges their similarities, though he has stated that Anthony is a more developed athlete at this stage in his playing career. When Calipari started recruiting Davis, he called Camby to tell him he found another version of him, except this one had a jumpshot.

Many people tend to think of this Camby comparison as a sort of insult on Davis’s potential and use it to diminish Davis’s prospects as a potential superstar, since Marcus Camby’s name doesn’t have the same ring as KG, Duncan, or Durant. But this comparison is indeed a flattering one.

Camby was the 2^nd overall pick in arguably the greatest draft class ever in 1996 (featuring Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash, among others), and was an absolutely dominant force in college. If you’re into watching classic games and are as excited as I am for this Saturday’s Calipari-Pitino showdown in the Final Four, you should check out footage of one of the last times the two coaches faced off back in 1995, which is available to watch on YouTube here.

In this game, Camby singlehandedly managed to lead Calipari’s UMass team to a victory against a Kentucky team considered to be one of the greatest college basketball squads of all time, handing them one of only two losses on the year. Camby’s UMass squad was the only team that got within 7 points of Kentucky the entire tournament later in the Final Four that year on Kentucky's stampede through the NCAA tournament.This team, known as “The Untouchables” was coached by Rick Pitino and featured a staggering 9 future NBA players including Tony Delk, Antoine Walker, Ron Mercer, Walter McCarty, Nazr Mohammed, and Kenny Anderson.

Even though he’s never been an All Star and never will be one, Camby is a former defensive MVP, 4-time All-Defense selection, and a 4-time NBA shot blocking leader whose career can hardly be considered a failure. He even added to his legacy of underrated awesomeness just recently with this crazy full court shot.

All these comparisons have their merits, but I’m willing to go a step further back in history to find a potential counterpart for Anthony Davis. Davis’s long, thin frame, team-first attitude, and remarkable shot blocking ability for me bring to mind none other than the inimitable Bill Russell. Both were notable for their deceptively long wingspans, super-human timing and quick-twitch jumping ability, as well as thier willingness to subjugate themselves on offense for the sake of their team. Surround Anthony Davis with a lineup full of Hall of Famers like Russell had and I bet he could win a ton of championships as well.

For now though, Anthony Davis is still just another 19 year old kid. Based on how well he has already managed his meteoric rise to fame, all basketball fans should be thrilled to see how this once in a generation talent will bloom as he's introduced to a whole new world in the NBA. Doubters will always be there, questioning his ability to compete with stronger players at the next level, develop a one-on-one offensive game, and shave that hideous forehead fur. But for now, Davis will just continue to be the humble kid who relishes the ability he now has to block other players' shots after years of getting his own shots swatted into the stands, the brave kid who isn't afraid to be himself and knows how to play within himself, which is ultimately all you can hope for in a young basketball player with his kind of talent.