Davidson Basketball: 2018-19 Wildcats season preview
Biggest Questions For This Season
1. Davidson has one of the best backcourts in the country, but will its weak frontcourt haunt them?
It will be difficult to grab offensive rebounds and attack the defensive glass when your leading rebounder is 6’4″. Jon Axel Gudmundsson may be undersized, but he is incredible on the glass, as he grabbed 6 rebounds per contest last season. At 6’5″, Kellan Grady is the Wildcats’ second-best returning rebounder (3.3 rebounds per game in 2017-18). Having guards who can rebound well can never hurt, but it does become a problem when the backcourt finds itself doing most of the work around the glass.
Considering Grady, Gudmundsson and Pritchett are Davidson’s top three returning scorers, Davidson’s backcourt looks to provide most of the team’s offensive production. Even with an unreliable frontcourt, Davidson should be able to count on its star guards for a successful season.
2. Is Davidson’s depth, or lack thereof, a serious issue?
For a team with so much praise, it’s rare to see a bench as shallow as Davidson’s this season. The three returning role players averaged 1.9 points per game and 1.8 rebounds per game last season, while the rest of the bench is composed of inexperienced freshmen.
Davidson’s shallow bench is undoubtedly concerning. However, Grady and Gudmundsson are used to staying on the hardwood for most of the game. Both guards played in over 35 minutes per game last season; they also logged 40-minutes games against No. 25 Rhode Island in the A-10 Championship and in the Round of 64 against Kentucky.
3. How high is Kellan Grady’s ceiling?
If Grady doesn’t get drafted after this year, he will be in 2020.
Grady will earn Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors and is already in the All-American conversation.
His ceiling, however, isn’t near that of what Steph Curry’s once was. Grady is getting comparisons to the three-time NBA champion, although Grady doesn’t have that much potential. Instead, Grady looks to be a dominant scorer in college for another year or two and then hear his name being called on draft day.