The 麻豆原创 men\u2019s basketball program has signed Tennessee transfer A.J. Davis (Buford, Ga.) to join the Knights, head coach Donnie Jones announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Davis is a 6-foot-9, 212 pound wing, who can play multiple positions on the floor. The Buford, Ga., native played one season at the University of Tennessee under head coach Cuonzo Martin, and after the coach departed in April, Davis announced that he would transfer.<\/p>\n
He had visits scheduled to a number of prominent Division I programs this summer, but cancelled them after meeting with Coach Jones and the rest of the Knights. Davis will sit out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA Division I transfer rules, but will be able to take the court with three years of eligibility in the 2015-16 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were looking to add another piece to our puzzle,\u201d Jones said of bringing in Davis. \u201cWe were looking for an Isaiah Sykes-type small forward, who had great versatility. We saw that A.J. was available and knew of him from high school. We knew he had three years and thought he\u2019d be an incredible get. We brought him in for a visit, worked him out, and really saw the skill level that he has and also where he can get to. He will be a great fit for our style of play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones said that he thought Davis felt extremely comfortable with the team during his visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Brandon Goodwin a bit from growing up in the Atlanta area, playing with and against him on AAU teams,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThey had a relationship, which was good. I think A.J. was looking to go to a place where he could play his position, which is on the perimeter, somewhere he could play with the ball in his hands, and somewhere he thought he could get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis played in 25 games as a true freshman at Tennessee last season. He started one contest, averaging 9.4 minutes, 1.3 points, and 1.6 rebounds per game. Davis was efficient from the floor, shooting 40 percent overall and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a lot of versatility,\u201d Jones said. \u201cHe can really pass the ball, he has a high basketball IQ, he can score it, and he can put it on the floor. He\u2019s long and athletic, so I think he will be good in the press. He can also be a good rebounder as a guard with his size.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sitting out during this upcoming season, Davis will have an entire year to improve during practice with the Knights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing for him is to transition from playing under the basket to playing out on the perimeter,\u201d Jones concluded. \u201cObviously he also has to get stronger. He\u2019ll definitely have to do that once he gets here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis graduated from Buford High School where he led the Wolves to a 25-7 record and the Class AAA state semifinals as a senior in 2012-13. His father is Antonio Davis, who played collegiately at UTEP and 13 season in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Davis will sit out 2014-15 campaign<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":59979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[9805,423,1392,3346],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-59978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-american-athletic-conference","tag-basketball","tag-donnie-jones","tag-ncaa"],"yoast_head":"\n