Anthony Davis only played one season with the Kentucky Wildcats, but he made it count by leading the team to a 38-2 record and capping off March Madness with a national title. Davis' dominance led to him becoming the consensus No. 1 pick, which went to the New Orleans Hornets in 2012. In his lone season at Kentucky, Davis had plenty of incredible moments on the way to the championship.
Davis started seriously pursuing a professional NBA career when he was leading his high school squad, Perspectives Charter School in the Chicago High School Public League. Media and scouts eventually realized his immense upside after a massive growth spurt, so he was invited to some camps before finally committing to Kentucky over DePaul, Ohio State and Syracuse.
Playing in the McDonald's All American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic were some of his fantastic achievements before suiting up for Kentucky, but let us focus on some of Anthony Davis' iconic moments with the Kentucky Wildcats.
Blocking Machine
For NBA fans who have been used to watching Davis in the professional level, it has been evident that his defensive prowess is among the best in the Association. That has been the case ever since Kentucky as Davis owns the school's men's national basketball record for single-season blocked shots. Moreover, his consistency in that department earned the recognition of tallying more swats than most Division I men's teams.
In Anthony Davis' final game at Kentucky against Kansas, he contributed six rejections, which gave him the edge over Hassan Whiteside, who was the previous NCAA Division 1 freshman record-holder. Even if Davis' scoring and rebounding were already excellent at such a young age, it was his shot-blocking abilities that cemented himself in the record books.
Anthony Davis won a ton of National, SEC awards
Due to his sensational one-and-done campaign, Anthony Davis received a plethora of National and SEC awards in the span of several months. Some of the national awards given to Davis that garnered the most attention were the Sporting News Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, NCAA South Regional All-Tournament team, and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year.
Even in the SEC, Davis was a recipient of the SEC Player of the Week twice and SEC Freshman of the Week four times. As he was being showered as the best collegiate player at that juncture, he still made winning a priority as Davis was a key cog in the eighth national championship for Kentucky. Falling short in the SEC Tournament final against the Vanderbilt Commodores likely motivated them during the NCAA Tournament run.
National Champion
Anthony Davis was able to maximize the six NCAA Tournament games to show he wouldn't crumble even under the brightest lights. Davis averaged 15.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, and a whopping 4.6 blocks per game in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky went 38-2 the whole season en route to winning the trophy. Davis was also with several teammates who were selected in the NBA Draft, such as No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, forward Terrence Jones, and point guard Marquis Teague.
It was not the easiest road for the Wildcats in winning it all, but their stacked roster was critical in beating the Kansas Jayhawks. In the six March Madness contests, Kentucky had five different players lead the squad in scoring, so the balance was emphasized despite Davis' massive talent.
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