Player Reports

After 13 games and about 2 months a lot of things are becoming clear. Substitution patterns, players’ roles, rotations, and more have started to crystallize and take shape. Headed into A10 play we now know Matt McKillop is largely employing a 9-man rotation: David Skogman, Grant Huffman, Connor Kochera, Bobby Durkin, Reed Bailey, Angelo Brizzi, Achile Spadone, Sean Logan, and Hunter Adam. While the top of the rotation is veteran laden, the rest is very young as 6 of the 9 are in their first or second year of eligibility. We’ve seen a lot of good and a lot of growth in every player but there is always more to do and new levels to reach. Thus, in this article I’m going to look at every rotational player and give a quick blurb on their strengths and what I would like to see them improve on.

6’10 Big David Skogman:

Last season Skogman was incredibly efficient, falling short of a 50/40/90 season by just a few 3pt% points and a few FT% points. In the offseason we asked if he could take on a larger role while maintaining his efficient play and he has empathically proved he can. This season he’s averaging 13/5.3/1 on 58% shooting from the field and 41% from 3. Simply put, he’s been exceptional and has spearheaded a very balanced offensive attack. His experience and versatility (ability to play both the 4 and 5) has also let Head Coach Matt McKillop play the two youngsters, Reed Bailey and Sean Logan, with him with confidence that he’ll be able to cover his frontcourt mate where need be.

There’s really not a lot of areas where one can ask Skogman to improve. If anything, we know he can improve his free throw percentage, back to where it was last year (at an outstanding 89%). We can also ask Skogman very kindly to use his covid year to return to Davidson for a 5th College season. Pretty Please!

6’3 G Grant Huffman:

Huffman was given the reins to the offense this season and more or less asked to be a coach on the court. So far he’s answered the call admirably. His averages are up across the board and so are his efficiency numbers. This season he’s averaged 12/5/5 and 2 steals/game on 47% shooting from the field, 33.3% from 3, and 70% from the free throw line. Grant’s defense has also been stellar and, along with his backcourt running mate Angelo Brizzi, has been the head of the snake on that end.

As with Skogman there really is not much more we can ask Huffman to do. This is his 4th year at Davidson, and we know who he is and what he can do, and we are really excited about what he’s done this season.

6’5 Wing Connor Kochera:

After a rocky start to his Davidson career last season, Kochera responded to being replaced in the starting lineup by becoming a really good role player off the bench. This season he’s moved back into the starting lineup and has continued his upward trajectory. Not only have his points almost doubled from 6 to 11 per game, but he’s improved his efficiency as well. This season he’s shooting 52% from the field, 39% from 3, and 75% from the free throw line. His shot selection has also achieved maximum efficiency as he’s basically only taking shots at the rim and open 3s. His defense has also gotten much better as he’s really fought on the defensive boards (securing 3 per game) and he’s largely cut out the defensive that leave him out of position that occasionally hampered him last year.

The one thing we’d ask of Kochera is to hit a few more open 3s per game. This is probably just recency bias after the Ohio game (especially because he’s nearing 40% from 3 on the season) but Kochera knows the offense inside out and his movement is phenomenal, which leads to a lot of open looks from 3. If he could knock down 1 or 2 more of those open looks that could make a huge difference for our offense.

6’7 Wing Bobby Durkin:

A lot of Davidson fans had high hopes for Bobby Durkin but even his strongest supporters could not imagine the impact he’s had so far as a freshman. From the game winning 3 against Maryland to his rock-solid defense, he’s been all we could ask for and more. In particular, his 3-point shooting is a irreplaceable on a team that needs more shooting and his movement on offense gets him and others good looks. The advanced statistics also grade him out as a positive on the defensive end thanks to his positioning and defensive rebounding. All in all, he’s had a stellar debut season for the Cats.

This is more of a long-term area for improvement, but the next step in his game is creating more off the dribble as right now he’s mainly asked to be a spot-up shooter. In this way he reminds me a lot of another jumbo guard/wing sharpshooter, Hyunjung Lee. In his first season Lee was mainly asked to be a spot up shooter, similarly to how Durkin is used now. Then as he got more experienced Lee was given more and more responsibility and that included creating his own shot. Durkin will almost certainly be asked to do the same as he develops. I’m personally very excited to see that growth.

6’11 Big Reed Bailey:

Bailey came to Davidson with a lot of hype thanks to his tantalizing combination of ball skills and physical tools. After playing in a more guarded role as a freshman last season Matt McKillop has trusted Bailey with a bigger role and he’s shown a lot of growth while flashing the potential to still do a lot more. In particular, he’s become much more aggressive on the boards and on offense. He’s almost doubled his points, rebounds, and assists per game to 10/5/2 this season and tripled his free throw attempts per game. He’s also improved a lot on defense per the advanced statistics. All in all there is a lot to like about Bailey’s growth season.

There are two main areas most Davidson fans would like to see Reed Bailey grow. First, he shot 34.5% from 3 last season but that percentage has dipped this season. For a while he wasn’t even taking 3s. If he can start shooting 3s with confidence at the clip he’s shown he can shoot them at, that would be gigantic for an offense that desperately needs improved 3-point shooting. Bailey has also had multiple extended stretches, such as the 2nd half of the ETSU game and late against Ohio where he singlehandedly dragged out of the jaws of defeat, where’s dominated and looks like an All-A10 player. It is probably unreasonable to ask him to be that player all the time, but Davidson fans would love if he could do it a little more consistently. Overall, he’s shown a lot of growth, and I can’t wait to see him continue on his very encouraging path.

6’3 Guard Angelo Brizzi:

When Brizzi committed to Davidson as a transfer from Villanova last January, we knew were getting a really talented player. In his short time at Davidson we’ve seen a player who shines on defense and plays with an edge that every team needs. In fact, he’s one of the leaders in the entire nation in steal percentage and his on-ball pressure is a constant headache for opposing guards. Along with Grant Huffman he anchors one of the best perimeter defenses we’ve had at Davidson for as long as I can remember.

On offense Brizzi has struggled but still has shown flashes where he gets downhill, attacks the rim, and gets to the line (where he shoots over 81%). From time to time he’s also shown the ability to knockdown spot up 3s. In a perfect world we’d love to see him make those flashes more consistent. It’s still early of course and we have no doubt he’ll get there; in fact, he reminds me a lot of a young Grant Huffman.

6’4 Guard Achile Spadone:

Spadone reminds me a lot of Rusty Reigel, he’s tough as nails, grinds on defense, and can knock down an open 3. If he can keep providing those things, we have an excellent glue guy. We’d love if he could keep working to hone his spot-up shooting skills and reach the heights Rusty reached as a veteran when he shot almost 40% from 3 in his final two seasons.

6-10 Big Sean Loan:

            The lengthy center from New Jersey has come a long way this season to become the 3rd Big in Matt McKillop’s rotation. On defense he’s really made his presence known, being one of the leaders in block % in the A10 and being very active on that end. In particular, it felt like he was everywhere on defense against Ohio when he had to step into a larger role because of Skogman’s absence. He’s also flashed the ability to hit 3s from the top of the key and make beautiful passes from the block on offense. That said, he still has a lot of development ahead of him on offense. For now we’d love if he improved his offensive positioning down low, which would put him in position for a lot more easy dunks. This is to be expected though for a young player who came to Davidson with a lot of tools but still raw.

6’7 Wing/Small-Ball 4 Hunter Adam:

The word on Hunter when he came to Davidson from New Zealand was that he was a very physical player who excelled on the defensive player. So far he’s delivered the promised physicality and defense in the 12 minutes/game that he’s played. His versatility, particularly his ability to guard every position 2-4, also makes him a swiss army knife in Matt McKillop’s toolkit. On offense he’s also as advertised. He’s a smart player with a good shooting stroke and touch (as seen by his 86% free throw shooting) but needs time to develop on the offensive end. For now though we’ve seen a games where he’s made multiple 3s even if those games are not the norm at the moment. That gives us hope he’ll eventually develop into an above average 3-point shooter, which paired with his defense and physicality, would make him a VERY important piece for this basketball program long-term. That is why we’d love to see him grow as a 3-point shooter.