One of the names repeatedly mentioned in recruiting circles recently has been RJ Davis. He turned heads after his two Nike EYBL circuit performances in Atlanta and in Indianapolis. Quickly after receiving first team All-Atlanta session honors from D1Circuit, four-star 6’1″ PG RJ Davis from Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, NY) was offered by Indiana and he received interest from a number of other high major schools including Seton Hall, Penn State, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Providence, Illinois, Northwestern, and more.
RJ Davis is currently ranked in the top 120 of the 247Sports rankings. Composite rankings have not yet caught up to date, but you can bet that RJ’s current three-star ranking and 204th national ranking will improve once recruiting sites release their revised rankings. He has played his way into comfortable four-star status.
On ESPN, RJ Davis is listed as the 92nd player in the nation in their 2020 Top 100 player rankings.
Indiana fortunately started building the relationship with RJ Davis a step earlier than some of the schools that are now just showing their interest in the New York guard. Earlier in December, Indiana had visited RJ Davis at his school in New York, and the staff expressed their interest in the guard by watching him play over the course of the college off-season.
RJ Davis earned EYBL All-Atlanta First Team honors from D1Circuit
RJ Davis is currently averaging 21.3 points per game in the Nike EYBL going in to the Dallas session which will take place on the weekend of May 24th. Statistics that stand out for the junior include his free throw shooting and three point shooting. At the free throw line, he is shooting over 80% in his first 8 games of the Nike EYBL. Although he averages less than three 3-point attempts per game, he is shooting the deep ball at an above-50% rate.
Archie Miller and the Hoosiers are thematically looking for shooters in the 2020 class. While ideally Indiana would have landed 2019’s Lester Quinones to serve their immediate shooting needs, the Hoosiers at some point will have to find players that can make buckets. The 2020 is no exception, and in fact, it may be the only place the staff can look for shooting as 2019 potential options are running low.
DATE
RESULT
SESSION
OPPONENT
MIN
PTS
FGM
FGA
FG%
FTM
FTA
FT%
3PM
3PA
3P%
REB
AST
TO
STL
BLK
04/26/2019
L 68-70
Atlanta
at PSA Cardinals (NY)
31
18
5
12
42%
7
8
88%
1
2
50%
2
5
3
3.0
0.0
04/27/2019
W 69-60
Atlanta
at Team Final (PA)
25
9
3
8
38%
2
2
100%
1
4
25%
4
5
2
3.0
0.0
04/27/2019
W 112-74
Atlanta
at Team CP3 (NC)
32
29
10
14
71%
5
5
100%
4
6
67%
4
6
2
4.0
0.0
04/28/2019
W 77-72
Atlanta
at Drive Nation (TX)
37
30
9
12
75%
6
7
86%
6
6
100%
4
2
2
1.0
0.0
05/10/2019
W 90-72
Indianapolis
at Playaz Club (NJ)
33
27
6
11
55%
14
20
70%
1
4
25%
3
2
1
3.0
0.0
05/11/2019
L 98-106
Indianapolis
Vegas Elite (NV)
30
19
7
19
37%
2
2
100%
3
8
38%
7
3
4
0.0
0.0
05/11/2019
W 100-78
Indianapolis
E1T1 United (FL)
24
23
6
9
67%
9
10
90%
2
3
67%
1
5
2
1.0
1.0
05/12/2019
L 52-70
Indianapolis
Mac Irvin Fire (IL)
34
15
5
15
33%
2
4
50%
3
6
50%
2
5
0
5.0
0.0
8 Games
(5-3)
AVERAGES
30.8
21.3
6.4
12.5
51%
5.9
7.3
81%
2.9
4.9
51%
3.4
4.1
2.0
2.5
0.1
The Scouting Report on RJ Davis
At 6-foot-1, RJ Davis plays the point guard position and can handle the ball with both hands. His craftiness allows him to hold and shake off defenders until lanes open up. A number of his moves may get him in to trouble as they are on the border of being considered a carry. Fellow New York guard Devonte Green had similar issues when he first played at the collegiate level. Archie Miller described Devonte’s game as having “street” and RJ Davis is starting to show that similar combination of style and aggressiveness.
However, to be clear, he is more of a true point guard than Green.
As one of the facilitators of his NY Rens team, RJ Davis can deliver passes effectively. While he may not be as great of a passer as his teammate and Purdue-commit Ethan Morton, RJ Davis still finds effective ways to deliver dimes when he gets into trouble in the lane. He frequently gets assists after his dribble penetration is met with a number of taller opponents.
He has a great mid-range shot that is aided by his athletic bounce and ability to maintain hang time while he squares up his body mid-air. With scouting eyes, RJ Davis watches for the contact and prepares his body so that he can elevate with the ball properly settled within his shooting form and he is able to leverage the backside of his body as a shield against the defender. His pull up jumpers are very effective as Davis mixes up his scoring between penetrating to the rim, three point shooting, and literally any where in between.
RJ Davis had great three point shooting in the EYBL Circuit. He is confident to take looks as he gets them, but he does not overshoot the other three as many other guards at this age are trending. When he moves on to the next level, RJ Davis will need to be careful with his three point shooting form as he tends to shoot with more of a forward-leaning motion. Consistent shooters will carry themselves up, rather than forward.
