Ime Udoka Discusses Celtics Drafting JD Davison: 'I probably caught less college basketball than ever this year, but he did stand out'

The Celtics weighed their options and considered moving up, potentially as high as late in the first round of Thursday's draft, but ultimately decided it was best to preserve their assets.

With the 53rd selection, they added JD Davison, a six-foot-three guard from Alabama. Davison is an explosive athlete, best known for his playmaking and consistently getting into the paint. He needs to make considerable strides as a shooter after converting only 30.1 percent of the 2.5 threes he attempted in his lone collegiate season. Davison also needs to cut down on turnovers after averaging three per game while with the Tide.

However, the explosiveness cited earlier makes him an intriguing prospect worth taking a chance on with a pick near the end of the draft.

While discussing the selection of Davison, president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens expressed, "all you have to do is turn on a couple of minutes of clips, and you can see the upside."

Ime Udoka relayed the Celtics are "excited about the young guy, JD. Obviously, (he's) an extremely gifted athlete. I probably caught less college basketball (games) than ever this year, but he did stand out. Specifically, I saw the hair and I saw him flying around when I did catch Alabama games. And so, he stood out right off (the) top; his athleticism, his youth and energy; young guy, obviously, (a) freshman. (He has) tremendous explosion, and so with him, we're extremely happy to have him; get him that late in the draft.

"And as you know, I've come from an organization where numbers didn't really matter. We got (Manu) Ginobili and (Tony) Parker, and some guys really late in the draft and had late first round, late second round and always try to find the diamonds in the rough as far as that."

Further Reading

Ime Udoka Sheds Light on Celtics Approach to Roster Building This Offseason

Brad Stevens Discusses JD Davison Selection: 'All you have to do is turn on a couple of minutes of clips, and you can see the upside'

Celtics Stand Pat, Select Alabama's JD Davison with 53rd Pick

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