Wisconsin's Johnny Davis goes No. 10 to the Washington Wizards

MADISON, Wis. – When the University of Wisconsin’s 2020-21 season ended, few thought much of Johnny Davis scoring a modest 10 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Fifteen months and two days later, Davis’s stunning rise landed him as a lottery pick.

The 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, Davis was selected by the Washington Wizards with the No. 10 overall pick in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“We are so proud of Johnny for fulfilling his dream of making the NBA,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said in a school release. “The Washington Wizards are getting a proven winner, and the most competitive player in this draft class. I’ve always said that Johnny’s best trait is his competitive drive, which will help him stand out at the next level. Playing for the University of Wisconsin meant something special to Johnny, and tonight meant something special to his state and our program.”

After averaging 7.0 points in 31 games off the bench as a reserved freshman, Davis led the Badgers in both scoring (19.7), rebounds (8.2), and assists (2.1) as Wisconsin – picked seventh in the annual preseason writer’s poll – won a share of the 2022 Big Ten Conference championship and a No.3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Davis burst onto the national scene in November when he scored 30 points against a nationally ranked Houston squad and was named the MVP of the 2021 Maui Invitational. His profile expanded further when he scored 37 points in a January win at No.3 Purdue, becoming the first player to lead a team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks, and steals in a road win over an AP Top 5 team since Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan.

Davis scored a combined 92 points on 62 percent shooting in the wins at Purdue, Michigan State, and Indiana (the first time in UW school history the Badgers won at those three venues in the same season) and led all major conference players averaging 24.1 points against Top-25 competition. In 31 games last season, Davis was held under 10 points scoring just once.

The 10th Wisconsin player selected in the first round of the draft since 1950, Davis is the highest-drafted Badger since Frank Kaminsky went ninth to the Charlotte Hornets in 2015.

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12

*Like us on Facebook