Scouting Report: FSU 4-star basketball signee Daquan Davis

Coming off a 17-16 season that saw the Seminoles go 10-10 in ACC play and get eliminated in the second round of the ACC Tournament, the Florida States men’s basketball team is looking to improve from top to bottom.

This offseason, eight FSU players entered their names into the transfer portal and three others exhausted their eligibility, so head coach Leonard Hamilton and staff had a lot of work to do to build a roster for next season.

One of the key pieces to that rebuilding effort will be four-star point guard Daquan Davis, who picked the ‘Noles over Georgia Tech in late March after being previously committed to Providence. The On3 Industry Ranking has Davis rated as the No. 14 point guard in the country and the 100th best player nationwide.

Standing at 6-foot-1, Davis is a little shorter than a typical Leonard Hamilton guard (the six guards who played major minutes this past season had an average height of 6-foot-5). But the Baltimore product displays outstanding skills at both ends of the floor.

High school and OTE stats

Davis attended St. John’s Catholic Prep during his junior year and enjoyed great success, averaging 16.2 points, 2.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds. He also showed his defensive ability with 1.6 steals a game. And while leading his team to a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship, Davis also was named District of Columbia High School Basketball Player of the Year.

For his senior year, Davis decided to play in the Overtime Elite (OTE) league, a relatively new alternative route to the NBA for high school players. The most notable players to come out of OTE so far were brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson, who were drafted fourth and fifth overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.

In his sole season of OTE play, Davis averaged 17.9 points (seventh most in the league), 5.8 assists (first in OTE), 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals (ninth most). The Florida State signee took his game to a higher level in the playoffs, averaging 22.1 points per game (second in OTE), 6.3 assists (third), 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

Offensive outlook

There are multiple aspects of Davis’ game that could help Florida State’s offense. He is an effective three-level scorer and thrives in a fast-paced offense; the teams in OTE stress a high volume of shots and look to run in transition as often as possible.

Davis carries 176 pounds on his 6-1 frame and has a decently wide frame, which helps him finish through contact when attacking the basket. This wide frame also helps him keep defenders on his back when driving through traffic, and he has shown a keen ability to hit mid-range jumpers, a lost art in today’s game.

There is still room for improvement as Davis shot 44.7 percent from the field in his lone season with OTE, but there is a lot to like. One asset in particular is his quick release when shooting from the perimeter, as highlighted in this article on Davis during the recruiting process. While watching some of his film, I recorded Davis getting his shot off anywhere between 0.46 to 0.5 seconds, which is extremely fast. For reference, Steph Curry reportedly needs 0.4 seconds to release his shot, and most NBA players need over 0.5.

Davis shot 35.4 percent from 3-point range last season, so there is room for improvement there. And the Seminoles will need him to do just that, as they were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the ACC a season ago (31.7 percent, which ranked second to last).

Davis also has shown excellent court vision and accuracy when passing the ball. In the OTE, his team trusted him to run the offense and distribute the ball (as mentioned previously, he led the league in assists.) Obviously, Davis will need to adjust to the pace and size of players at the college level, but he has the skills and build to be a successful scorer and offensive leader.

Defensive outlook

Davis is a very capable defensive player but likely will need some time to learn the intricacies of Hamilton’s system. One positive of playing in the up-tempo OTE is that Davis should be used to exerting himself at all times, and that will be the case at Florida State, where the Seminoles typically run a full-court press.

When it comes to guarding players individually, Davis does a good job of using his wide frame and quickness to keep ball-handlers in front of him. And he has active hands, which allow him to pluck the ball from driving players as well. Florida State ranked No. 10 nationally in steals per game last season, and Davis should fit right in.

One liability for Davis could be his lack of size, which could cause issues in rebounding. That was already a major area of weakness for the Seminoles this past season. Another area of concern is his ability to defend the pick-and-roll. There were a few occasions this past season where he appeared to lack cohesion with teammates, which led to open 3-shots for opponents.

From a physical standpoint, there is no reason to think Davis can’t be an effective defender on the college level. But like with most freshmen, it won’t be a seamless transition.

Here is a longer look at Davis’ game from Courtside Films:

Providence commit Daquan Davis highlights at the NBA Top 100 Camp! @theedaquandavis pic.twitter.com/dwxAIDtX01

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) July 8, 2023

Up Next: Scouting report on FSU forward signee Christian Nitu.

Sam Stevens is a Warchant intern entering his second year as a student at Florida State University.

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