Cal Basketball Recruiting Scouting Report: Davon Dillard

Another potential recruit, another scouting report. Let's take a look at 3-star swingman Davon Dillard.

Here is your basic information:

Name: Davon Dillard

Position: SG/SF

School: Our Savior New American

AAU: Mac Irvin Fire

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 205 lbs

Rating: 3-star (Rivals, Scout, ESPN)

Considering: Cal, Creighton, Purdue, Indiana, Pitt

The teammate of McDonald's All-American Cheick Diallo, Davon Dillard has been increasing his stock this season as an underrated wingman prospect. He has listed Cal in his Top 5 list, and surely looks like an attainable recruit. Lets see what he can bring to the Golden Bears.

Strengths:

• Athleticism - This is without a doubt one of his greatest strengths. (Just watch this video.) Dillard is a SC Top 10 waiting to happen. He definitely will posterize anyone that stands in his way. Davon also has elite quickness in a variety of ways as well. Vertically, Dillard explodes for dunks, rebounds, blocks. Laterally, he moves his feet before his body makes the move. His first step is one of the quickest and makes his move based on the defender after that first jab. Hand-wise, he keeps his hands moving with and without the ball, making sure he keeps defenders on their guard while giving him the opportunity to get the shot he wants. Davon is also outstanding and absorbing the contact to make sure he gets a clean shot. He recognizes defenses quickly and is able to adjust his body when attacking the basket.

• Ball Handling & Play-Making Ability - Davon Dillard is a good ball-handler for his position. He is not a natural point guard but he is always looking to make plays for himself and his teammates. Dillard is a very aggressive driver to the basket that he forces defenses slide to protect the paint, he recognizes it and make a smart interior pass. Dillard also has a nasty crossover and spin move. Dillard reminds me of Chris Douglas-Roberts but a lot more athletic. He uses the same types of moves to break his defender down and is willing to give up the ball to teammates if he can get the defense to slide or collapse. Davon can also make some outstanding passes as well. Dump-offs, wrap-arounds, no-looks, Dillard makes some flashy passes, but does it with a good amount of confidence and consistency.

• Attack Mode - Lastly, I think his mental strength is one of his greatest attributes. Whenever Dillard touches the ball, he always looks to attack. He doesn't waver in his mission to get the ball in the basket, whether that be by himself or setting up another teammate. His mentality and toughness definitely is contagious and will affect his teammates; and you can never have enough mentally tough players.

Weakness:

• Offensive Diversity - Although Dillard is gifted athletically, it does seem that that is main strategy when on offense. There isn't much game tape available to go on, but most of his shots are dunks, lay-ups or 3s. Granted that is how a lot of AAU teams are playing now, with 3's or drives, adding a mid-range game to his offensive arsenal could help him become a bigger offensive threat. With his speed, pulling up from a full drive would be hard to stop in terms as a defender.

• Jump Shot - Another question mark in Davon's game is his jump shot. He does nail open jump shots, but that's also in part due to the fact he can rise above most of his defenders. His shot looks a little unorthodox, and his form isn't consistent as well.

How he will fit in with the Bears:

Davon Dillard could definitely come in and be a high-energy guy off the bench. He is a sure-fire bet to stay at the very least 3 years. Learning from a great shooter like Mathews and Bird, will only help him to improve as an offensive player. The Bench will have so much fun with him in shoot around and when he gets out on fast breaks. We need a big motor guy like that who can turn around the momentum with a single dunk. A strong and high energy guy like Dillard will help depth on the wings and also balance out our wing play which currently is full of great jump shooters.

Go Bears!