NCAA Basketball: Analyzing final 6 teams for transfer big man Javian Davis

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

With former five-star center Charles Bassey set to return for one more season, Western Kentucky will have both he and Carson Williams to lead the frontcourt. But with both of them likely gone afterward, along with losing star guard Taveion Hollingsworth, the team needs to have talent ready to go for 2021-22 to keep the team in Conference USA contention.

Although he’d have to willingly sit out a season (or play 15 mpg off the bench behind Bassey), Davis could become a star with the Hilltoppers. Just like another former Alabama transfer who went to Conference USA in Nick King, who went from 3.3 ppg with the Tide to 21.0 ppg and 8.4 rpg, en route to winning Conference Player of the Year for Middle Tennessee.

Xavier Musketeers

This is an interesting option because while the Musketeers don’t have a true center on the projected upcoming roster, they still have plenty of frontcourt options. Even without Jason Carter after next year, Zach Freemantle will still be a key piece, along with class of 2021 top-100 power forward Cesare Edwards.

While Davis can certainly find a role on Xavier’s future rosters, there still is an open question as to what kind of role he’ll play. He doesn’t have the versatility that works well with this team and Coach Travis Steele has shown the same kind of willingness and aggressiveness to explore the transfer portal and find a potential upgrade if needed. This would be a high risk/high reward scenario for the Tide center.

This seems to be a wide-open recruitment so far for Javian Davis but Mississippi State (local option), and Tulane (teammate reunion and playing time) seem to stand out for me. But don’t overlook the Hilltoppers if he’s willing to sit out a season. As one of the few power conference capable transfers still out there, it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up.