Is BARON DAVIS really MVP worthy? B. DIDDY GOLDEN STATE MVP

Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979, in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional basketball player currently starting at point guard for the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Davis became a star at Crossroads School and UCLA. Davis was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the number three pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. Davis's grandmother and guardian, Lela Nicholson, was instrumental in pushing him to play basketball. With her encouragement, he eventually earned a basketball scholarship to play at Crossroads School, a prestigious private school in Santa Monica, California, where he rubbed elbows with the children of some of California's elite (his classmate was actress Kate Hudson).[1] At Crossroads School, the charismatic Davis became a budding star, growing a surprising five inches between his sophomore and junior seasons, going from 5'10" (1.80 m) to 6'3" (1.91 m) in that span.[citation needed] Now able to dunk the basketball, Davis used his trademark explosiveness and skills to rack up numerous honors on the basketball court, including leading his team to the Championship over perennial prep powerhouse Christ The King HS (Queens, New York) at the prestigious Beach Ball Classic tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While also being named Gatorade Player of the Year and a Parade All-American, perhaps the highlight of his season was his selection to the prestigious McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game in 1997 (where he won the Slam Dunk Contest despite being the shortest player in the competition), playing with future NBA players Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Larry Hughes and Ron Artest. The summer before his freshman season Baron was selected as a member of the USA Basketball Junior Select Team preparing to compete in the Hoop Summit game. In a 97-90 victory over an International Select Team, he tallied nine points and five assists. After a highly contested recruiting battle that saw Kansas, Georgia Tech and UCLA (among other schools) in hot pursuit for his services, Davis selected UCLA as his school of choice, so that he could play in front of his family and friends. During this time, Davis was involved in a minor scandal pertaining to his driving a 1991 Chevy Blazer that was a gift from his sister, then a UCLA employee. The car was sold to her by a member of Jim Harrick's family. At the time, Harrick was the UCLA men's basketball coach, presenting both a conflict of interest and a potential recruiting violation, since rumor had it that the car was purchased below market value. The incident was cleared up when it was discovered that Davis's sister had, in fact, bought the car at the listed blue-book price. Davis then enrolled at UCLA in 1997 without problem. In 1998, Davis was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and made the All-American Third Team by his sophomore year in 1999.[2] In Davis's two years at UCLA, he averaged 13.6 points and 5.1 assists for the Bruins. While coming down from a dunk during an NCAA Tournament game his freshman year, he injured his knee and tore his Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Surprisingly, though, he made a full recovery the next season and seemed to have regained nearly all of the speed, quickness and explosiveness he had before the injury while doing enough on the basketball court to warrant his declaring for the 1999 NBA Draft after his sophomore campaign.

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YouTube | January 16, 2008

Tags:. .averaged. .conflict. .walter. .shane. .perhaps