Preseason Hoops Post No. 5: Felix and Davis
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Javan Felix. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
More preseason content from the king, Tim Preston. Here's his Preseason Post No. 5 on Javan Felix and Eric Davis.
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #1: Shaka Smart
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #2: The Offense
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #3: The Defense
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #4: Taylor and Holland
Background: Javan Felix
● 5-foot-11, 185-pound, Point Guard
● St. Augustine High School (New Orleans, LA)
● Recruited by Russell Springmann
● Ranked as #74 prospect, nationally
● Committed on August 8, 2011
● Averaged 8.7 pts, 2.2 rbs, 2.0 asts, 0.3 stls, 1.6 tos on 42/39/75% shooting in 23.3 minutes per game.
2014-15 Recap
For really the first time under Rick Barnes, Javan Felix was utilized in a role (and within a minutes per game) that fit his skill set.
So, in a way, it was a year where he was simultaneously asked to do the least but also allowed to stay inside of his comfort zone (and, largely, away from his weaknesses) and produce to the best of his ability.
What that meant, tangibly, is that his minutes were down (along with his assists, rebounds and, most importantly, his turnovers) and his points were up.
Now we see how Javan fits into Shaka’s frenetic, athletic style.
How Javan Has Been Deployed Successfully: Offense
Felix’s skill set generally revolves around his ability to shoot the basketball and handle the ball against man pressure. He does both well, especially when he can attack in spacing and when he’s got open areas into spacing where he feels most comfortable as a scorer
*The low wing along the perimeter as a three point shooter
*Baseline short corner on pull ups
*In transition as a catch and shoot player
*Against a rotating defense where he can attack space off the dribble while going right
When Javan can be asked to fit a specific role as a scorer, he can help this team.
How Javan Has Been Deployed Successfully: Defense
What Javan lacks in quickness or height, he makes up for in strength and arm length. The guy’s a bull and tough to get around because he can stay flat with his hips defending the ball but ball handlers just bounce off him when trying to turn the corner. It makes him deceptively good when guarding the ball.
When Javan Has Struggled: Offense
He’s not a point guard because he doesn’t have the quickness or suddenness. To be a top-flight point guard at his height, he’d have to have top-level quickness. So, when he’s tasked with creating offense for himself against a set/established half court, he will shoot a low percentage because his only move is a pull up jumper as he doesn’t have the explosiveness to attack the rim against help defense.
He’s also not a point guard because he isn’t a natural distributor/creator for others. Javan excels at making the solid, simple pass. However, he rarely creates offense for his teammates by passing them open or making the difficult pass in traffic. It’s not in his comfort zone and, so, he almost completely stays away from it.
He’s not a shooting/scoring guard because he’s 5’10” and is largely one-dimensional with how he scores the ball (three point shooting and pull up jumpers into rotated space).
When Javan Has Struggled: Defense
To be clear, I don’t blame Javan for this as every perimeter player on the team functioned under the same principles, but when in zone, Felix was as destructive as a perimeter defender could be. His positioning when weak side was awful. He was almost always shading on the far side of the free throw line from his assignment. Yes, the thought process is both to a) take away the high middle of the lane against penetration; and b) put him in a position to generate turnovers, he did neither well.
And, most importantly, he left himself susceptible to three point shooting off of reversals and kick outs. Over and over and over and over again.
His spatial defending is a huge weakness.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Offense
Javan doesn’t have the quickness or speed with the ball to function as a primary ball handler in Shaka’s offense. The good part about that is that, with the arrival of Davis and Roach, he shouldn’t have to.
Javan can be an asset to this team as a shooter and ball mover. Beyond that, Javan doesn’t have the physical skill set to be a focal point in this offense for more than 8-10 minutes per game.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Defense
In the diamond, Javan has the physical strength and long arms to be capable on the edge of a diamond. It would be tough to put him at half court because of his lack of quickness and the nature of his movement in the open floor.
In half court, Javan should be fine when on ball, but will need to be careful when playing passing lanes and off the ball.
Best Case: 7.5 pts, 2 rbs, 2.5 asts, 1 stl on 42/39/80 shooting in 15 mpg.
Worst Case: 9.5 pts, 3 rbs, 2.5 asts, 1 stl on 40/33/75 shooting in 25 mpg
Background: Eric Davis
● 6-foot-3, 180-pound, Combo Guard
● Arthur Hill High School (Saginaw, MI)
● Recruited by Chris Ogden
● Ranked as #45 prospect, nationally
● Committed on September 16, 2014
● Averaged 21.5 pts, 9.9 rbs, 6.7 asts and 4 stls per game last year as a high school senior.
Strengths: Offense
Davis comes to Texas as one of the more gifted scorers and shooters in the 2015 class. A Jordan Brand All-American, Davis’ offer list included Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State and Florida (among many others).
Davis has a tremendous skill set with the ball and as a shooter. He has good hip and shoulder preparation both in catch and shoot situations as well as on pull ups. He understands how to keep the ball under his hips as a ball handler, and is sneaky good at navigating through traffic as a penetrator. He even sees the floor well as a passer and does a good job of setting up spacing for dump offs or kick outs with his ability to change pace with the basketball.
Strengths: Defense
Davis’ intuitive nature as a player does leak over to the defensive side as well. He sees the floor well. He moves well in space and he has a knack for rebounding, even at his size, in space.
Weaknesses: Offense
Eric has his issues with forcing the action as a creator and shooter. He is a guy who exudes confidence and is fearless when he attacks, but that can come with its caveats, particularly for him as a player who isn’t the natural athlete that a guy like Demarcus Holland or Kerwin Roach are.
There are times when he can over penetrate if he get out of control or impatient and even his skill set with the ball can’t bail him out. He also will struggle some to finish at the rim against D1 help defenders.
All stuff he will iron out in time, but he’ll have some issues adjusting to the game as it pertains to his aggressiveness as a ball handler/creator/facilitator.
Weaknesses: Defense
Davis is a fine athlete, but he’s not especially long, nor especially explosive. He can make up for some of that with his competitive nature and the way he understands the flow of the game. But he’s going to have issues with his relative lack of athleticism, at least on occasion, given the nature of what Smart runs.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Offense
Davis is probably a better fit for Shaka than Shaka is for him, if that makes sense. Davis has the ability with the basketball to take pressure off of Taylor as a creator/facilitator in the half court. He’s also a terrific release valve for the offense because of his ability to shoot the basketball.
As for the faster tempo and pace, it shouldn’t hinder Davis, but it’s not as if it fits his skill set precisely as it would a player like Taylor, Holland or Roach.
Intangibly, what Davis brings with him that’s huge for this team is his fearless attitude as a scorer. Not since J’Covan Brown left has Texas had a player with that type of confidence/skill set combination.
Hard to understate how important that is for Shaka and this team considering the only real alpha dog, offensively, on this team is Taylor who struggles to shoot.
It’s because of that offensive capability that I expect Davis to play significant minutes this season.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Defense
In the diamond, it will depend, some, on whose on the court with him. If he’s with a combination of Roach, Holland and Taylor, Davis will likely be on one of the sides of time diamond in the role to better utilize the quickness of the other three. If he’s on the floor with Javan or Yancy, it’s more likely to see him on the bottom of the diamond in that high interceptor role where he can use his instincts in the open floor.
In the halfcourt, he’ll be tested some as a mover in traffic, laterally, but he should be fine away from the ball. It will also help that with Holland, Roach and Taylor around, Davis will rarely draw the opponent’s best perimeter player for an assignment.
Best Case: 8.0 pts, 3.5 rbs, 2.0 asts, 1 stl on 43/36/80 shooting in 22 mpg.
Worst Case: 4.5 pts, 1.5 rbs, .5 asts, .5 stl on 40/33/70 shooting in 15 mpg.
Javan Felix. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
More preseason content from the king, Tim Preston. Here's his Preseason Post No. 5 on Javan Felix and Eric Davis.
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #1: Shaka Smart
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #2: The Offense
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #3: The Defense
Preston's Preseason Hoops Series #4: Taylor and Holland
Background: Javan Felix
● 5-foot-11, 185-pound, Point Guard
● St. Augustine High School (New Orleans, LA)
● Recruited by Russell Springmann
● Ranked as #74 prospect, nationally
● Committed on August 8, 2011
● Averaged 8.7 pts, 2.2 rbs, 2.0 asts, 0.3 stls, 1.6 tos on 42/39/75% shooting in 23.3 minutes per game.
2014-15 Recap
For really the first time under Rick Barnes, Javan Felix was utilized in a role (and within a minutes per game) that fit his skill set.
So, in a way, it was a year where he was simultaneously asked to do the least but also allowed to stay inside of his comfort zone (and, largely, away from his weaknesses) and produce to the best of his ability.
What that meant, tangibly, is that his minutes were down (along with his assists, rebounds and, most importantly, his turnovers) and his points were up.
Now we see how Javan fits into Shaka’s frenetic, athletic style.
How Javan Has Been Deployed Successfully: Offense
Felix’s skill set generally revolves around his ability to shoot the basketball and handle the ball against man pressure. He does both well, especially when he can attack in spacing and when he’s got open areas into spacing where he feels most comfortable as a scorer
*The low wing along the perimeter as a three point shooter
*Baseline short corner on pull ups
*In transition as a catch and shoot player
*Against a rotating defense where he can attack space off the dribble while going right
When Javan can be asked to fit a specific role as a scorer, he can help this team.
How Javan Has Been Deployed Successfully: Defense
What Javan lacks in quickness or height, he makes up for in strength and arm length. The guy’s a bull and tough to get around because he can stay flat with his hips defending the ball but ball handlers just bounce off him when trying to turn the corner. It makes him deceptively good when guarding the ball.
When Javan Has Struggled: Offense
He’s not a point guard because he doesn’t have the quickness or suddenness. To be a top-flight point guard at his height, he’d have to have top-level quickness. So, when he’s tasked with creating offense for himself against a set/established half court, he will shoot a low percentage because his only move is a pull up jumper as he doesn’t have the explosiveness to attack the rim against help defense.
He’s also not a point guard because he isn’t a natural distributor/creator for others. Javan excels at making the solid, simple pass. However, he rarely creates offense for his teammates by passing them open or making the difficult pass in traffic. It’s not in his comfort zone and, so, he almost completely stays away from it.
He’s not a shooting/scoring guard because he’s 5’10” and is largely one-dimensional with how he scores the ball (three point shooting and pull up jumpers into rotated space).
When Javan Has Struggled: Defense
To be clear, I don’t blame Javan for this as every perimeter player on the team functioned under the same principles, but when in zone, Felix was as destructive as a perimeter defender could be. His positioning when weak side was awful. He was almost always shading on the far side of the free throw line from his assignment. Yes, the thought process is both to a) take away the high middle of the lane against penetration; and b) put him in a position to generate turnovers, he did neither well.
And, most importantly, he left himself susceptible to three point shooting off of reversals and kick outs. Over and over and over and over again.
His spatial defending is a huge weakness.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Offense
Javan doesn’t have the quickness or speed with the ball to function as a primary ball handler in Shaka’s offense. The good part about that is that, with the arrival of Davis and Roach, he shouldn’t have to.
Javan can be an asset to this team as a shooter and ball mover. Beyond that, Javan doesn’t have the physical skill set to be a focal point in this offense for more than 8-10 minutes per game.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Defense
In the diamond, Javan has the physical strength and long arms to be capable on the edge of a diamond. It would be tough to put him at half court because of his lack of quickness and the nature of his movement in the open floor.
In half court, Javan should be fine when on ball, but will need to be careful when playing passing lanes and off the ball.
Best Case: 7.5 pts, 2 rbs, 2.5 asts, 1 stl on 42/39/80 shooting in 15 mpg.
Worst Case: 9.5 pts, 3 rbs, 2.5 asts, 1 stl on 40/33/75 shooting in 25 mpg
Background: Eric Davis
● 6-foot-3, 180-pound, Combo Guard
● Arthur Hill High School (Saginaw, MI)
● Recruited by Chris Ogden
● Ranked as #45 prospect, nationally
● Committed on September 16, 2014
● Averaged 21.5 pts, 9.9 rbs, 6.7 asts and 4 stls per game last year as a high school senior.
Strengths: Offense
Davis comes to Texas as one of the more gifted scorers and shooters in the 2015 class. A Jordan Brand All-American, Davis’ offer list included Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State and Florida (among many others).
Davis has a tremendous skill set with the ball and as a shooter. He has good hip and shoulder preparation both in catch and shoot situations as well as on pull ups. He understands how to keep the ball under his hips as a ball handler, and is sneaky good at navigating through traffic as a penetrator. He even sees the floor well as a passer and does a good job of setting up spacing for dump offs or kick outs with his ability to change pace with the basketball.
Strengths: Defense
Davis’ intuitive nature as a player does leak over to the defensive side as well. He sees the floor well. He moves well in space and he has a knack for rebounding, even at his size, in space.
Weaknesses: Offense
Eric has his issues with forcing the action as a creator and shooter. He is a guy who exudes confidence and is fearless when he attacks, but that can come with its caveats, particularly for him as a player who isn’t the natural athlete that a guy like Demarcus Holland or Kerwin Roach are.
There are times when he can over penetrate if he get out of control or impatient and even his skill set with the ball can’t bail him out. He also will struggle some to finish at the rim against D1 help defenders.
All stuff he will iron out in time, but he’ll have some issues adjusting to the game as it pertains to his aggressiveness as a ball handler/creator/facilitator.
Weaknesses: Defense
Davis is a fine athlete, but he’s not especially long, nor especially explosive. He can make up for some of that with his competitive nature and the way he understands the flow of the game. But he’s going to have issues with his relative lack of athleticism, at least on occasion, given the nature of what Smart runs.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Offense
Davis is probably a better fit for Shaka than Shaka is for him, if that makes sense. Davis has the ability with the basketball to take pressure off of Taylor as a creator/facilitator in the half court. He’s also a terrific release valve for the offense because of his ability to shoot the basketball.
As for the faster tempo and pace, it shouldn’t hinder Davis, but it’s not as if it fits his skill set precisely as it would a player like Taylor, Holland or Roach.
Intangibly, what Davis brings with him that’s huge for this team is his fearless attitude as a scorer. Not since J’Covan Brown left has Texas had a player with that type of confidence/skill set combination.
Hard to understate how important that is for Shaka and this team considering the only real alpha dog, offensively, on this team is Taylor who struggles to shoot.
It’s because of that offensive capability that I expect Davis to play significant minutes this season.
How He Fits Shaka’s Scheme: Defense
In the diamond, it will depend, some, on whose on the court with him. If he’s with a combination of Roach, Holland and Taylor, Davis will likely be on one of the sides of time diamond in the role to better utilize the quickness of the other three. If he’s on the floor with Javan or Yancy, it’s more likely to see him on the bottom of the diamond in that high interceptor role where he can use his instincts in the open floor.
In the halfcourt, he’ll be tested some as a mover in traffic, laterally, but he should be fine away from the ball. It will also help that with Holland, Roach and Taylor around, Davis will rarely draw the opponent’s best perimeter player for an assignment.
Best Case: 8.0 pts, 3.5 rbs, 2.0 asts, 1 stl on 43/36/80 shooting in 22 mpg.
Worst Case: 4.5 pts, 1.5 rbs, .5 asts, .5 stl on 40/33/70 shooting in 15 mpg.
