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SALT LAKE CITY — With exactly one week left until the NBA draft, the Utah Jazz are ramping up workouts to find their gem with the No. 12 pick in the lottery.
And former Michigan State big Deyonta Davis had the team’s full attention Thursday.
The Jazz brought in Davis for a solo workout at Zions Bank Basketball Center, and the 240-pound post player showed off his shooting range — even though he didn’t fire a single 3-pointer in his lone season with Sparty.
“They were just looking for shooting from me: floaters, how I shoot the three and finishing around the rim,” Davis said.
But the 6-foot-10, 240-pound post player who averaged 7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as a freshman impressed enough to draw some favorable comparisons to current Jazz players. His game reminded Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin of Derrick Favors, the power forward who is backed up by second-year Kentucky product Trey Lyles in a loaded position.
The Jazz feel that Davis could be on the same track as Favors when he entered the NBA six years ago.
“He plays with a little more smoothness than Derrick plays with,” Perrin said. “He may look less energetic than Derrick does. I think he understands the game very well, so he gets the spots a little bit easier, and he doesn’t look like he gets to those spots with a lot of effort. But he’s in the right positions, especially defensively.
“I think Derrick is a little more energetic than he is right now.”
And the shot? The rare college shooter fared well in each of the Jazz’s shooting drills Thursday morning.
“He’s got a pretty good shooting touch,” Perrin said. “From 18 and in, he’s very good. He has the ability to maybe eventually get out to an NBA three.”
