How Important Is Deyonta Davis For The Michigan State Spartans?

The Michigan State Spartans are heading into this season with high expectations after their Final Four appearance last season. Although the team lost two key players from last year in Branden Dawson and Travis Trice, the team did add a very talented and athletic big man in Deyonta Davis.

Davis is a 6-foot-10, 4-star recruit that is going to be in the frontcourt for the Spartans this year. The Spartans also almost landed big man Caleb Swanigan, who was going to play for Michigan State, but he decommitted and went to Big Ten foe Purdue. All eyes will be on Davis this year in East Lansing because the pressure will be on for him to be the next great big man under Tom Izzo.

Davis' Outlook For The Season

In Davis' senior year of high school he averaged 18.5 PPG, 15.0 RPG, and 6.0 BPG, which is very impressive. He is a versatile big man that gets it done on both ends of the floor, which is why Izzo is going to use Davis a lot. He should have a shot to start right away for the Spartans this season and he is going to be a huge part of the Spartans' frontcourt rim-protection. In his opening exhibition for the Spartans against Northern Michigan, Davis put up an impressive 12 points and four blocks.

Davis showed in that exhibition that he can help out the Spartans on both ends of the floor and he showed that his energy can really lift the team. Davis can also shoot the ball from different places around the court, even though he is not known to be a deep threat. Davis might develop a deep shot as he matures at Michigan State because we all know how much coach Izzo likes big men that can shoot the ball from deep (paging Adreian Payne and Draymond Green).

Maybe the comparison to guys like Green and Payne is early, but Davis has similarities. For instance, he is very versatile and brings such great energy to the game similar to Green and Payne. His shot-blocking ability is truly awesome and he uses his athleticism to challenge every shot that comes his way in the paint. He also has great footwork on the defensive end, so he can cover some better big men in the Big Ten this season.

Overall

Davis might be the most important player not named Denzel Valentine on Michigan State's roster for next season. If Davis plays like he has so far during his exhibitions and keeps improving as the season goes on, Michigan State is going to be one scary team. He has the ability to affect the game in so many ways, particularly on the defensive end where he will become an elite shot-blocker by the end of his college career.

The Spartans start their season on Friday against Florida Atlantic University and then they have a huge game against Kansas on Nov. 17, which is a part of the Champions Classic. Davis is going to be thrown into a tough game against Kansas next week, and this will be a good time to see what Davis can truly bring to the table for the Spartans.

Davis could be another one of Izzo's frontcourt studs.