Colorado Prospect Spotlight: Nathan Davis
Shortly after Mullen dispatched Westminster on Saturday afternoon to snap a seven-game losing streak, Nathan Davis was sporting the grin of a guy happy to have some weight off his shoulders. “Great team win,” he said. “It felt good to…
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Continue ReadingShortly after Mullen dispatched Westminster on Saturday afternoon to snap a seven-game losing streak, Nathan Davis was sporting the grin of a guy happy to have some weight off his shoulders.
“Great team win,” he said. “It felt good to get this one.”
Of course, Davis has had plenty of reason to smile lately. He is three weeks into his senior season after being sidelined for the past nine months by the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in his knee last spring.
“It’s a blessing,” Davis said of being back on the court. “Sometimes it’s hard to stop and appreciate that I’m playing because I expect so much out of myself each time I step on the floor, but it’s so good to be back. So good to be back.”
The 6-foot-7 Davis was having a superb spring with the Colorado Hawks when he suffered the injury. He told Prep Hoops Colorado a few months ago that it felt like “a bullet shooting through knee” when he was injured. At the time, Davis was drawing major interest from Division I programs.
Despite the setback, the No. 3 ranked player in our 2016 class was diligent in his rehab. He had a slight set back when he tweaked the knee in a workout. But he was back on the court at the beginning of January and has averaged about 15 points since his return.
“He had a minutes restriction in early January against Overland and Arapahoe after that,” said Mullen coach Peter Speissbach. “Then we got him back full speed the next week. He’s good to go. It’s tough when you’re coming back from a massive surgery and everyone else has been playing since November or earlier and you just got going. He’s going through that. And we’re just so proud of him to go through the effort of coming back on time. He had a minor setback, but he pushed through it.”
Davis admits his game “is not all the way there yet.” Few players who come off an ACL injury are ready to go from the minute they take the floor. Conditioning has to be made up. Trust has to be established in the injured knee. But Davis is pleased with his progress.
“It’s getting better each and every game,” Davis said. “It took me a lot of steps backwards to get me back to where I was, but I’m ready for the challenge. It’s already on the way.”
Davis said he his planning to attend a prep school next season, reclassifying himself as a 2017 prospect. Davis was just starting break down his recruiting options when he got hurt, and he wants to be able to thoroughly go through his college choices — and also show more programs what he’s capable of becoming.
“There’s a lot of things to consider, and there’s not a lot of time,” Davis said. “It would be good to have that extra year, so that is the plan.”
The plan to go to a prep school would give Davis a full AAU season — spring and summer — to play with the Hawks and increase his exposure. While he is still gaining back his full game, it’s still easy to see why Davis has been a coveted prospect. He has a strong frame at a legit 6-7, and he has wide shoulders that help him operate with great balance. Davis has great ball-handling ability and can run the offense from multiple spots on the court. Gets to the basket with ease and is a strong perimeter shooter. Defensively, Davis has great length and appears to have the tools to be a plus out front defender at the next level.
For now, Davis is relishing his time on the court with Mullen, and the Mustangs are glad to have him back.
“The guys all look up to him,” Speissbach said. “It’s great to obviously have a guy with that kind of talent and can do those things he does and have all those school interested in him and everything else. Guys really look up to him, and it’s always nice to have that.”