Davis selected MOP at Final Four

The freshman forward had a rough night on offense, scoring six points on 1-of-10 shooting. He made up for it with defense, tying a championship game record with six blocked shots and altering several others in Kentucky’s 67-59 win over Kansas.

Davis, who set an NCAA freshman record with 186 blocked shots, helped Kentucky hold the Jayhawks to 35 percent shooting. He also had 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals in leading Kentucky to its eighth national title and first since 1998.

He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Doron Lamb, along with Kansas’ Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor.

Despite finishing with just six points, all but two on free throws, Davis flirted with a double-double. He tied Joakim Noah’s individual record for blocks in the NCAA championship game with six, grabbed 16 rebounds, had five assists and three steals.

If this was the last game at Kentucky for the 19-year-old freshman, expected to be the No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA draft, it was a heck of a way to go out.

“Well, it’s not me, it’s these guys behind me. They led us this whole tournament,” Davis said. “This whole game I was struggling offensively and I told my team every time down, `You all score the ball. I’m just going to defend and rebound.’”

As the final seconds ticked down, cheers of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” echoed throughout the arena. And as the buzzer sounded, Davis finally showed the personality that is sure to make him a megastar at the next level. Grabbing a national champions T-shirt and hat, Davis quickly put them on and strolled over to the Kentucky fans, pointing at the court as he did Saturday night.

No screams of “This is my stage!” on this night. But everybody, from the Kentucky fans to the Kansas players, already knew it.

Standing tall on the podium for the trophy presentation, Davis repeatedly turned to the Kentucky cheering section, waving his long arms and urging fans to show the Wildcats even more love.

Davis has loomed large all season, and not simply because he’s 6-foot-10 with a wingspan of a Piper Cub. A guard until a growth spurt, he still has that sweet shot and sixth sense of a smaller player. And despite playing at a Chicago high school that didn’t even have its own gym, Davis seems born for the big stage and bright lights.

It’s Davis’ game, though, that really has star quality.

He finished the season with 20 double-doubles, seven in his last 10 games. This was only the eighth time this season he failed to crack double figures.

And in the truest sign of a special talent, even when he’s having an “off” night, as he was Monday, he still finds ways to dominate the game. Having already played Kansas earlier this season, he wasted no time reminding the Jayhawks of what they were in for, crowding Thomas Robinson on the Jayhawks’ first few possessions and disrupting the All-American’s shots. Kansas center Jeff Withey, a shot-blocking machine himself, looked like a high school kid beside Davis.

Kentucky coach John Calipari has raved about his team’s unselfishness all season, usually pointing to Davis as the prime example. With his shots not falling, Davis buckled down on defense and let his teammates take care of the scoring.