Khameron Davis emerging as key contributor for Pitt

A few days ago, I wrote about two Pitt freshmen, Marcus Carr and Shamiel Stevenson, having big seasons. But another freshman is starting to emerge as a key contributor in guard Khameron Davis.

Davis is quietly earning more playing time while Carr and Stevenson are getting the bulk of the praise. Davis had been earning steady minutes already but he’s starting to do a little more with them and is becoming a bigger focal point of the offense.

The turning point appears to have been the Mount St. Mary’s game, where Davis scored 12 points on 5-5 shooting in Pitt’s overtime win. After that contest, he was inserted into the starting lineup and had seven points and a season-high five rebounds against West Virginia playing a somewhat incredible 32 minutes. He was again a starter in Pitt’s last contest against McNeese, scoring nine points (second only to the 12 he had against Mount St. Mary’s and knocked down all three of his three-point attempts.

Davis has been virtually lights out from the field all season in becoming one of Pitt’s most efficient scorers. On the season, he’s shooting an incredible 58% from the field and an equally impressive 53% from three-point range. Both averages easily lead the team.

The answer seems to be to get him more shots and that’s happening. Davis, who had averaged only two shots per game prior to the Mount St. Mary’s contest is now averaging about six per contest since then. His shooting percentage hasn’t been hurt yet, as he’s shot 59% from the field and 66% from long distance - numbers that are actually better than his already impressive season totals.

Keeping up that insane pace, of course, won’t happen. And the one game where Davis struggled was against Pitt’s toughest opponent in West Virginia when he went only 2-6 from the field. Against more difficult teams in the ACC, those numbers will come back to earth a little. But for now, Davis is becoming a really important player for Pitt and could be poised to do even more with the Panthers needing to replace the offense lost by Ryan Luther after his foot injury.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics. Follow the author and founder/editor @AnsonWhaley.