During his only season with the Washington Huskies, Butler transfer DJ Davis got off to a slow start. He went 10-38 from the floor, including 7-26 from three-point range over the season’s first five games.
In an 81-77 loss to the No. 22 Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday, Davis outpaced his slow start, going 11-19 from the field and 7-14 from behind the arc for a career-high 31 points.
“I don’t think it’s anticipated, I think it goes back to the hours that you put in in the gym,” Davis said after the game. “I’ve been shooting after practice, before practice a lot more lately and I think that just helped me find my rhythm.”
While he can’t be expected to replicate that performance, as the Huskies move into the toughest part of their schedule, Davis’ ability to space the floor will be crucial for coach Danny Sprinkle to run his offense effectively. Without center Franck Kepnang, who has been sidelined for almost two months with a knee injury, teams have been able to pack the paint and make things tough and forward Great Osobor, who finished with just 9 points and 4 rebounds against the Illini.
“We need to continue to have all hands on deck,” Sprinkle said. “I told the guys after that DJ shot the ball really well tonight, it might be [Mekhi Mason] on Thursday at Michigan State, or it might be Tyler [Harris]. We need everybody’s best, we understand that we might not be as talented or as big as some of these teams right now, but that’s where we’ve got to be scrappy and everybody’s got to do their job.”
If Davis can continue to shoot the ball at a high clip and draw defenses out to the perimeter, he’ll be able to create open looks for his teammates and take some pressure off Osobor in the paint. With four of Washington’s next five games coming against ranked opponents, Sprinkle will have to rely on Davis as his team continues to search for consistency.