Meet the Raptors: A closer look at Davis

Kevin Nielsen October 26, 2012, 5:37 PM

Note: This is the fifth of 10 previews of Toronto Raptor players as we head into the 2012-13 NBA season.

Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
Born: June 5, 1989 (age 23)
College: North Carolina
Height: 6’10”
Weight: 232 lbs.
How he became a Raptor: 2010 NBA Draft, 13th overall

By the numbers
	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	FG%	FT%
2011-12 season	6.3	0.9	6.6	0.6	.513	.670
Career (Two seasons)	7.0	0.8	6.9	0.6	.547	.607
Full Ed Davis bio

Entering his third season in the NBA, Raptors forward Ed Davis knows that this is a vital season in his progression as an NBA player.

“I wouldn’t say this is my make-or-break year but this is the year that is going to prove what kind of NBA player I am going to be,” he recently told Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s Eric Smith.

Davis was expected to be off the board when the Raptors selected him with the 13th pick in the 2010 NBA draft but a wrist injury suffered late in his final season at North Carolina led to the draft-day drop.

That same injury caused him to miss his first training camp with Toronto and forced him to spend some time in the NBDL during his rookie season.

A year ago the NBA labour dispute also created a shortened training camp and before camp began he said, “This is really like my first training camp so I am looking forward to it.”

Over the summer he spent a good deal of his time in Toronto working on his shot with Raptors shooting coach John Townsend.

“We put a lot of hours in. A lot of two-a-days. We just broke it down from scratch,” Davis explained. “So I’m confident with it right now.”

At first he said it was hard to break out of old habits but he says fans will notice his new shooting stroke.

“It just looks better. It feels better. It goes in more'” Davis explained.

Davis also re-sculpted his body over the summer – losing weight but adding muscle.

“The (Raptors) wanted me to get stronger and working with Alex (McKechnie, the Raps director of sports science) and Johnny Lee (the Raps strength and conditioning coach) they see the difference just by me lifting in the weight room. At the same time I didn’t put on any weight. I actually lost body fat,” he told the Toronto Sun’s Mike Gantner.

Listen now:Ed Davis with Eric Smith

The team is expected to be much deeper across the board this season with the addition of Jonas Valanciunas and the return to health of Andrea Bargnani so Davis may find it difficult to get consistent minutes. Any inconsistencies in his play could cause him to lose minutes to Aaron Gray and/or Amir Johnson.

Davis understands that he may not get quite as much playing time as he hopes but intends to be prepared for any situation.

“Everyone wants to play 40 minutes a game,” he explained. “Coach Casey’s going to put the right people on the floor so whenever your number is called you have got to be ready.”

Prior to joining the Raptors, Davis had rarely tasted defeat and he is hoping that this team is now ready to take it to the next level.

“It’s been a while but I’ve always been a winner. I won two high school championships and a national champiosnhop my freshman (year) so hopefully we can get that back going and start winning,” Davis said.

He believes it’s not difficult to change the losing culture.

“I don’t think it’s tough at all because winning is fun,” he said. “Losing is the hard part. Once we just get going, it’s going to be easy from there.”

He believes that the locker-room has a more positive vibe heading into the season than in years past.

“I think that this year we really believe we can make the playoffs,” Davis said. “My rookie year and my second year, we said it but I don’t think everyone bought into it. This year, that’s what we want to do and it’s not B.S. We really think we can make the playoffs.

“We just have to go and prove it.”

But what’s the real difference?

“We just have the talent. Kyle (Lowry), Landry (Fields), Jonas, all those guys. We just have the depth and we just have all of the pieces to win in the NBA.”

Twitter handle: @eddavis32

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