Re: Cruz Davis
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2026 5:06 pm
DP86, appreciate the question and the thoughts from your end. I don't necessarily agree with all the bullets you've listed though. I do agree he's a solid PPG game guy, and an efficient shooter... better efficiency than most we've had.
TT, all due respect to him as one of us, but he was atrocious in efficiency - took a million shots to score his 20+, it was painful to watch for me.
Personally, I would take Green and Estrada and JWF all day long. Green was criminally underrated - tremendously high IQ player. He just completely bombed the biggest game of his career and botched the dance. But that dude was one heckuva guard. Estrada is hard to beat as an all-around player and leader, and JWF was an absolute phenom at the mid major level. Unstoppable guard. Cruz isn't any of that, and he definitely isn't going to start on a FF team next year. Just my opinion though, others may see differently.
He does have a strong attribute in his defensive effort - he certainly may be better than all of HU's POY's before in that regard. And not downplaying that at all, a huge part of the game.
Where do I think he can improve?
- Has way too many TO's in big spots for a star guard. His passes are often errant (right idea but poorly timed / executed) and his dribble is often broken up (either by his own sloppiness or by a defender he's allowed to get too close).
- Completely disappears for 20-30 minutes from literally every single game. That's not a POY to me. That's not a reliable star / leader to me. That's a very inconsistent player. Never know what he's going to do or when he'll decide to do it.
- Zero mid range game. All 3's or driving. There's a third scoring level he doesn't display (yet).
- Leadership - I don't see much of it yet personally. Maybe he is, but I'm not a fan of the 'quiet' leaders - always a bit of a copout. I'd like to see him take more decisive control of the team on the floor. Guide, direct, mentor, coach, motivate, lead. Haven't seen it consistently yet.
Cruz is a very good player, very glad he's at HU, and I agree he likely is the best of an unexciting group of candidates in the CAA this year. And I'll say he has an even higher ceiling than what we see now - he's got another year left, he CAN be much better than he is, and that's a testament to him. I think he could be a national level player if he comes back and improves on the above for his Sr year. I'm a fan. I just need to see more personally to put him in that 'takeover guy' category.
Lead the team to the dance and he'll erase that doubt. That's one thing NONE of the rest have done. Do that, and he'll cement his place.
TT, all due respect to him as one of us, but he was atrocious in efficiency - took a million shots to score his 20+, it was painful to watch for me.
Personally, I would take Green and Estrada and JWF all day long. Green was criminally underrated - tremendously high IQ player. He just completely bombed the biggest game of his career and botched the dance. But that dude was one heckuva guard. Estrada is hard to beat as an all-around player and leader, and JWF was an absolute phenom at the mid major level. Unstoppable guard. Cruz isn't any of that, and he definitely isn't going to start on a FF team next year. Just my opinion though, others may see differently.
He does have a strong attribute in his defensive effort - he certainly may be better than all of HU's POY's before in that regard. And not downplaying that at all, a huge part of the game.
Where do I think he can improve?
- Has way too many TO's in big spots for a star guard. His passes are often errant (right idea but poorly timed / executed) and his dribble is often broken up (either by his own sloppiness or by a defender he's allowed to get too close).
- Completely disappears for 20-30 minutes from literally every single game. That's not a POY to me. That's not a reliable star / leader to me. That's a very inconsistent player. Never know what he's going to do or when he'll decide to do it.
- Zero mid range game. All 3's or driving. There's a third scoring level he doesn't display (yet).
- Leadership - I don't see much of it yet personally. Maybe he is, but I'm not a fan of the 'quiet' leaders - always a bit of a copout. I'd like to see him take more decisive control of the team on the floor. Guide, direct, mentor, coach, motivate, lead. Haven't seen it consistently yet.
Cruz is a very good player, very glad he's at HU, and I agree he likely is the best of an unexciting group of candidates in the CAA this year. And I'll say he has an even higher ceiling than what we see now - he's got another year left, he CAN be much better than he is, and that's a testament to him. I think he could be a national level player if he comes back and improves on the above for his Sr year. I'm a fan. I just need to see more personally to put him in that 'takeover guy' category.
Lead the team to the dance and he'll erase that doubt. That's one thing NONE of the rest have done. Do that, and he'll cement his place.