The 1,100 population town of Letohatchee, Ala., sits roughly two hours southeast of Alabama’s campus in Tuscaloosa. However, Nate Oats could have spotted this season’s biggest offseason addition from anywhere.
Tuesday night will mark the beginning of a new chapter for Alabama basketball as JD Davison makes his official debut for the Crimson Tide. Not since the arrival of Collin Sexton four years ago has a freshman generated this much buzz for the Tide.
Like Sexton, Davison joins Alabama as a five-star point guard poised for a future in the NBA. Unlike the former lottery pick, the Letohatchee native developed right under the Tide’s nose.
Davison, the No. 2 point guard and No. 13 overall player in this year’s class, has been named the state of Alabama’s Mr. Basketball the past two years. During his senior season at Calhoun High School, the McDonald’s All-American averaged 32.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, showing off his elite athleticism and ability to drive to the lane for rim-rattling dunks.
Oats believes those skills are tailor-made for his wide-open offense. The fact that they belong to a player from down the road of Alabama’s program, he says, “is just icing on the cake.”
“When I recruited him, I made the point to him, ‘Listen, JD. If we were out in the middle of nowhere on the opposite side of the country, if we were Montana, Washington, wherever, I think this would be the best program for you because of the way we play,” Oats said. “... And I still feel like that.
“The way we play, we were the fastest high-major team in the country. The floor is spaced. We take a lot of threes, it opens the floor up for him to use his athleticism. He was built to play this way.”
That pitch worked out pretty well as Davison committed to Alabama last fall over offers from Auburn, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Memphis, and Michigan. Monday, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound point guard explained his decision to join the Tide had little to do with location.
"People think it was just because I'm staying at home," Davison said. "It is one of those, but the real reason was the play style. I just believe this fits my whole playstyle, and it was the best fit for me."
Davison provided a taste of what Alabama can come to expect this season when he recorded 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting during the Tide’s charity exhibition victory last month. During that outing, the freshman demonstrated a veteran-like poise, scoring six of his points in the final minute, including four clutch free throws to help Alabama secure a 73-68 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.
This offseason, Oats has spoken glowingly of Davison, stating he has matched preseason All-SEC teammate Jahvon Quinerly as the Tide’s leading ball distributor. Monday, the head coach called his freshman “a great teammate” while noting that he has taken well to coaching so far at the next level.
“He’s been a little bit more vocal than what I thought maybe he’d be,” Oats said. “He’s got a really high IQ. He passes the ball great. Him and Quinerly are our two-leading assists guys. He’s able to create. He finds our bigs at the rim for easy shots. He’s been great that way.”
Despite his strong start in Tuscaloosa, Davison still has a bit of polishing left to do if he wants to truly develop into the Tide’s ideal point guard. While he’s known more for his ability to get to the rim, the five-star talent will have to improve on his shooting in order to fit into an Alabama offense that led the nation with 989 3-point attempts last season. Like most freshmen, he’ll also need to sharpen his defensive skills if he wants to keep up with the Tide’s blue-collar identity on the court.
Nevertheless, his head coach likes what he’s seen so far.
“He’s got a chance to be an elite defensive player with his athleticism, and he’s a big, strong, quick, athletic guard,” Oats said. “He can be an elite defender. We’ve just gotta get him to keep growing on that end and learning what we want out of him.”
Alabama will tip off its season on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT as it hosts Lousiana Tech inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
"Playing here in front of our fans, it's gonna be loud,” Davison said. “It's gonna be fun, and we're gonna come out and play hard.”
