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| Saturday, February 10 Updated: February 12, 2:35 PM ET Baron seeks to make (first) name for himself By Eric Karabell ESPN.com |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Baron Davis has heard of Julius. He knows who Dominique is, has seen what Cedric, Dee and Spud did when he was growing up, and what Kobe and Vince accomplished in the last few years.
Ask him about what everyone is calling the weakest and most unknown crew of dunkers in All-Star weekend slam dunk contest history, and Baron doesn't seem to care. Why should he? We might be looking at the next guy whose first name became a household one because of the dunk. "I don't care who isn't here, I'm here and I'm gonna win," said Davis, the emerging Hornets point guard who many consider the favorite in a contest making news for the wrong reasons. "I know I'm gonna win. I'm gonna go out and put on a good show. I always thought I'd be in this contest. I've been in several and haven't lost yet." Davis isn't as cocky as he sounds -- he's smiling and laughing the entire time he's speaking in front of a throng of reporters -- but he does have a world of confidence, and for good reason. While everyone whines about who doesn't want to compete in this mighty event -- and it was mighty enough to carry the torch last year in Oakland, right, Vince? -- it's unfair to blame this weekend's teenagers, um, competitors. Of them Davis is clearly the most accomplished of the group, which is to say he actually plays. But Davis is having a breakout season for Charlotte, a Central Division leader or contender all year. He averages 13.4 points, 7.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals, numbers which are All-Star quality. He's a triple-double threat every night and many concede it won't be long before Davis is a Sunday participant in All-Star weekends in the future. Davis will also compete in Saturday's rookie game, which pits rookies against sophomores. Last year Davis helped the first-year guys to a resounding win. "It's fun for me and everyone to be in these events, but my goal is to be an All-Star," Davis admits. "I'm motivated to go into the summer next year to become an All-Star caliber player." For now, Davis is a dunker, which he has no problem with because he earned his way on the six-man squad, which also includes Corey Maggette, DeShawn Stevenson, Stromile Swift, Jonathan Bender and Desmond Mason. At 6-3, Davis is the shortest contestant. At 21 years, 10 months, he's also one of the youngest. From UCLA to the NBA, Davis could often be seen putting down massive, acrobatic dunks normally reserved for the big men of the game. One would think performing in a contest like this takes a lot of preparation. But for Davis, he'll be pretty much thinking as he dunks. The NBA season doesn't leave much time to practice the more fun nuances of the game -- just ask the Hornets' stern coach Paul Silas -- and Davis has been nursing a knee injury, one which was made worse when Dikembe Mutombo and Jason Terry fell on him earlier this week in a game. Plus, Davis' father passed away from a heart attack at age 50 one day before was going to see his son play an NBA game in person for the first time, Feb. 2 in Los Angeles. So excuse Davis if he's just here to enjoy himself and not think too much. "I'm really tired and it's starting to wear on me, all this traveling back and forth from L.A. to Charlotte, and Phoenix to Charlotte," Davis admits. "But I am trying to be in good spirits. I've been thinking about my dad ever since it happened, and sometimes I don't even think about the game. Maybe it still hasn't hit me yet."
Still, Davis couldn't believe all the attention he was getting in a room with veteran All-Stars, and he was, except for talk about his father, enjoying every minute of it. Here are a few of the lines that turned Davis into a comedian:
While Davis eats up the All-Star experience and will play a major role in two of Saturday's four events, he realizes that his story was worth telling months ago, when he began to rebound from a below average rookie season to become a starter at point guard. The guys drafted around him became stars right away (Steve Francis, Lamar Odom). But Davis made a ton of mistakes last year and never broke into the starting lineup. His jumper wasn't working and minutes were scarce. Now he's among the most improved players in the league. "Baron has had a great season," said David Wesley, his Hornets backcourt partner at guard and a participant in Saturday's 2ball contest. "I think he had to slow down his game a little bit to be effective and explosive at the same time. He would get himself in trouble and he lost his confidence. He had to be taught to think before he does something. In college he could do anything and let his athleticism take over. Here everyone is athletic." To Davis, he still hasn't really made it yet, but he's on his way. He says all the right things when he's serious, that he's honored to be competing, that he'll do his best, have fun, etc. He talked with some of the other young players in the room, like Maggette and Shawn Marion, smiling all the time. And after this weekend, he might have a lot more reasons to smile if his name is added to the slam dunk champion list. "You can call me the favorite if you want," Davis said. "I will live up to it." Baron will live up to it.
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