Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis' shot blocking ability helped Kentucky not only win a national championship, but also led the nation in field goal defense and blocked shots. Now Davis, who is projected as the top pick in the Ã?¿June NBA draft, says that 6-10 signee Nerlens Noel could have the same impact on next year's UK team. “He is great shot blocker. I think he is better than me. You just have to wait and see to find out,” said Davis. “IÃ?¿hope he doesn't break all my records, but he might.

When former LSU coach Dale Brown saw Kentucky coach John Calipari and his star player, Anthony Davis, in New Orleans at the Final Four, he gave Calipari a copy of a letter he gave to Shaquille O'Neal when he was about to embark on his professional career. “Anthony is a great, spiritual young man. I just wanted him to see the financial advice I had for Shaq about all the new friends and people that were going to want to get to his money,” said Brown. “There's only one word to describe Davis from all I've seen.

LEXINGTON - Anthony Davis came to Kentucky with big expectations, a willingness to learn and a unique perspective. He left Kentucky having exceeded expectations, still hungry to improve and with perhaps an even better perspective on life and basketball. Davis did everything he could have ever imagined - and more - during Kentucky's 38-2 national championship season. He blocked a nation-best 4.7 shots per game and set school, Southeastern Conference and NCAA freshman records for blocks in a season with 186. He led the Wildcats in scoring (14.2 points per game)

LEXINGTON - One thing Kentucky coach John Calipari noticed about Anthony Davis during his remarkable freshman season had nothing to do with basketball. “He didn't pressure me, but he told me not to kid myself (about the NBA draft). If I wanted to come back (to Kentucky), he would have been fine with it. He said, 'You don't have to leave, I see how much you love school,'” Davis said. “I am always on time for class and tutors - I just love school. He didn't want to take that away from me.” Davis knows now that he has declared for the NBA draft, skeptics will question his academic intentions.

If there's one thing that coach John Calipari - and Kentucky fans - have to already know about Nerlens Noel is that he is fearless. Has to be. How else could he not be afraid to follow in the footsteps of Anthony Davis? The 6-11 Noel, the nation's top-ranked recruit, announced Wednesday that he would play his college basketball at Kentucky rather than Georgetown or Syracuse. That immediately elevated Calipari's recruiting class to No. 1 - he's now four-for-four on No. 1 classes at Kentucky - and Thursday ESPN.com's Andy Katz already had the Wildcats third in his preseason poll behind Indiana and Louisville.

Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis said on  Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC-TV that the first thing he'll do when he does go to the¿NBA is “buy a car, a Bentley.” Davis is in Los Angeles to be presented the John R. Wood Award at 36th Annual Wooden Award Gala tonight at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. “I have been thinking since I was little about a white on white Bentley. Cruise around the streets and show everybody I have got a little money,” said Davis. “You only live once.” A Bentley costs in the $200,000 to $300,000 range, but Davis is expected to be the first pick in the June NBA draft, even though he emphasized again he has not made a final decision about leaving UK. “I have to sit down with my coach and family.

NEW ORLEANS - It was no surprise to Terrence Jones that teammate Anthony Davis tied an NCAA tournament championship game record by blocking six shots against Kansas on Monday. “That's one of the best parts of his game, his defense. He can do that without having the ball. It's just great having him on defense for us. He helped us out big tonight,” Jones said after the 69-57 win that gave the Wildcats their first national championship since 1998. Davis also set a single-season blocked shot record by a freshman by increasing his total to 186, the best in the nation this year.

NEW ORLEANS - He's getting set to play the biggest basketball game of his young life, but Anthony Davis doesn't mind letting everyone know that there is an off-court side to him as well. “I am a very laid-back guy off the court. I like to draw in my spare time.I watch a lot of movies. Terrence (Jones) is a big movie guy, so we like to go to movies a lot,” Davis said. He will draw “whatever pops into my head” and especially likes doing cartoon characters. “Stuff I have seen on TV. I put up a picture on Google sometimes.

NEW ORLEANS - Knowing what a special season Anthony Davis had already had, I thought it would be interesting to see how he reacted to receiving the Adolph Rupp Award as the nation's top player. It was the first of three straight awards he would pick up here - he received player of the year honors from the United States Basketball Writers Association and The Associated¿Press - but this was the first one and I also knew Kentucky coach John Calipari would be presenting the award to his star freshman.

NEW ORLEANS - Louisville sophomore center Gorgui Dieng knows his matchup with Kentucky center Anthony Davis could be critical to who wins Saturday's Final Four matchup. Yet he insists even if Davis has a good game,¿Louisville could still win. “It isn't about me. It's about the team first,” said Dieng. “This game is not going to be easy. This game is very important at every position. It's not about me and Anthony Davis. It's about everybody. He is a great basketball player.