Roundball Direct

Anthony Davis; Credits KSRcollege.com

The abilities are obvious: Davis has blocked 175 shots in 38 games, a remarkable 4.6 per game. Friday he was named national player of the year by The Associated Press. Offensively, he has soft, sure hands and a 20-foot shooting range that has drawn comparisons to NBA stars Kevin Garnett and Kevin Durant. However, it’s his personality – fierce, yet calm – that seems to impress college basketball insiders as much as anything. As Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said at the SEC tournament, “great disposition, great demeanor. Wow. He is the real, real deal.” ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas, who once coached Davis as an instructor at a Nike-sponsored elite summer camp, detailed what Stallings meant. “You can tell a lot about a kid through his habits; is he on time, has he laced up his sneakers, is he falling into line for a drill? You tell (Davis) to do something and he’s there always,” Bilas described. Charlotte Observer

Austin Rivers

Scott Howard-Cooper: One scout told me he’d take T. Jones over Harrison Barnes. A sign of how much teams want to like Jones. And of Barnes’ letdown postseason. Twitter

Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers who declared for the NBA draft this week after finishing his freshman season at Duke, says he’d love to play for Boston. “If that was to happen, I would love to,” Rivers said on WEEI’s “Dennis & Callahan” on Friday morning. “I would love to play for any organization in the NBA. That’s my dream. It would be great. It would be different. It would be an interesting aspect just to play for my dad.” ESPN.com

After earning second-team All-SEC and All-Freshman team honors in his first season as a Razorback, Arkansas guard BJ Young has submitted his name for consideration in the the 2012 NBA draft. Young, however, will not hire an agent, and will continue taking classes at the University of Arkansas in order to retain his amateur status, and reserve the right to return to Arkansas next year. “BJ is using this time to gather information about his draft potential,” Anderson said. “By submitting his name for consideration for this year’s draft he will be able to find out what the scouts see in his game and make an informed decision about his future.” Fayetteville Flyer