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LAS VEGAS — When the BYU Cougars ended the 2012-2013 college basketball season, Brandon Davies' hoops future was unknown. Davies had dreams of playing in the NBA, but wasn't sure if it was in the cards.
It didn't take long, however, for the former Cougar to gain the confidence he needed to push forward. Davies was named the MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational, and his performance there enabled him to receive an invite to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.
"All that kind of put me on the map," Davies said. "It kind of opened people's eyes who didn't really know who I was. It caused some people to take a second look, and from then on it helped boost my confidence and boost my work ethic."
As the NBA Draft grew closer, Davies wasn't willing to turn down any workouts from NBA teams. During the weeks leading up to June 26, he crisscrossed the country working out for team after team, trying to find an organization that would be willing to select him in the draft.
Unfortunately for Davies, draft night came and went without hearing his name called. Despite the disappointment of not getting drafted, Davies knew his NBA opportunity was just around the corner.
"I have a great agent," Davies said about agent Bill Duffy. "Within a couple minutes after the draft ended, he called me with this deal with the Clippers; he was working for me the whole time."
Davies said the deal with the Clippers was the best fit for him. There are quite a few BYU/Jazz fans that would have liked him to end up playing for Utah in the summer league. While Davies said his agent looked into that, he admits that playing for Los Angeles was the right move.
It's the right move for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, L.A. offered Davies a partially-guaranteed contract. Not only is that upfront money, it's also a sign that the team is interested in him enough to commit to him on a certain level. That should bode well for Davies when it comes time to hand out invites to veteran's camp in October.
Just think, Davies could be sharing the court with the likes of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Actually, that's already happened.
"Yesterday we had a little scrimmage against him (Paul) and Hollins (Ryan) and Blake. We kind of mixed things up and got up-and-down the floor with them — learned some things from them. They're great guys and really open to help us get better."
Getting better is exactly what Davies wants to do. In his summer league debut in Las Vegas on Friday night, he scored 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting. He also picked up 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Without question, Davies' biggest impact came in the form of his defense. He was active on both ends of the court and provided some toughness in the paint.
Hard work is exactly what the Clippers are looking for from Davies. The coaches have told him the only thing he needs to worry about is giving maximum effort. If he can do that, the rest of his game can progress naturally.
While Davies has moved on to the pros, his former team in Provo is never too far from his mind. He said he constantly hears from Cougar fans wishing him well and rooting him on.
Even though the Cougars are trying to fill the shoes left by Davies' departure, he has no doubt in his mind the BYU basketball program will be just fine.
"The coaches have made some really good changes — they're bringing in a lot of really good guys," he said. "The skies the limit for them. There's a lot they have to come in and learn.
"I've met all the guys and they're all willing to learn", Davies added. "Those are the type of guys BYU needs to be successful."
Success for Brandon Davies is within reach. He'll remain in Las Vegas with the Clippers' summer league team through July 22. Based on his performance, Los Angeles will decide if they'll invite him to veteran's camp in October.
With the amount of attention the Clippers have shown Davies so far, the likely scenario is that they'll want to continue their look at him in the fall.
