Davis talks transfer to Iowa
Three-time All-MAC Selection.
1,438 career points.
188 three point makes.
One of the best mid-major point guards in the country.
Thanks to the transfer portal, Molly Davis is now longer at Central Michigan. Instead, she is becoming a Hawkeye. Davis is a big addition to an Iowa team that already brings back their entire starting five, including All-Americans Caitlin Clark and Monika Czinano. She brings with her two years of eligibility.
I was able to reach out to her and talk about her decision to transfer to Iowa.
“I am so thankful for the opportunity,” said Davis. “It’s obviously a step up (in competition) and I have a lot of work to do, but at the end of the day it’s still the same game.”
Over three seasons with the Chippewas, Davis averaged in double figures for all three years, including 36 games with 20+ points. Her career high came against Ohio in 2020, when she put up 33 points on 11/20 shooting. CMU got paired with the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament that season and Davis had 20 points, six rebounds and a career-high five steals.
While in the transfer portal, Davis took visits to Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State and Bowling Green, but ultimately, she felt like Iowa City was the best spot for her. A Hawkeye team that likes to get out and run on offense was something that Molly said stood out. More than that, it was the people around the program that made the decision an easy one.
“I visited some other Big Ten and mid-major schools. I just loved the people, staff, community and the winning culture,” she said. “They really push the pace on offense and score at a high rate. It’s an offense that will definitely be fun to play.”
Davis brings an obvious scoring threat to the Hawkeyes, but more than that, she can do it from the behind the arc and inside the arc. Her 35.1% career shooting percentage from behind the arc is definitely a stat that pops out. However, she is a guard that can attack the basket off the dribble and get to the hoop. At times last season, that is something the Hawkeyes lacked on the offensive end. She is also an excellent free throw shooter, as she made 82.3% of them over her last two seasons.
Molly says she just finished up classes at Central Michigan last week and will likely be moving to Iowa in June. At that point, it will be back to work for the senior guard. She has a number of things she is looking to improve on before next season tips off.
“Just to name a few…my all-around defense, finishing around the rim and consistency behind the arc.”
Although she wants to improve on the defensive side, Davis was able to collect 115 steals in her time at CMU, which is good for 1.34 steals per game. For comparison, over their respective time at Iowa, Caitlin Clark averages 1.37 steals per game and Gabbie Marshall averages 1.43 steals.
Davis leaves Central Michigan with 188 3pt makes to her name, which is 8th all-time for the Chippewas. However, her shooting percentage behind the arc dropped to 28.0% last season. She shot 39.5% behind the arc in 2019 and 38.0% in 2020. Adding that shooting threat to a team that already has Caitlin Clark, Gabbie Marshall, McKenna Warnock and freshman Taylor McCabe makes the Hawkeyes offense even more dangerous.
As for meeting her new teammates? Molly said she was able to meet the entire team during her visit to Iowa City, but there was one player that reached out to her before anyone else.
“The entire team was great, especially on my visit,” said Davis. “Kate Martin was actually the first player to reach out.”
Lisa Bluder has called Martin the mother on the team. The player that looks after everyone. The glue to the team, so it is no surprise that Kate was the first one to reach out to her new teammate.
The addition of Molly Davis gives Iowa some added depth at the guard position with Tomi Taiwo transferring to TCU. At times last season with Caitlin Clark on the bench, the Hawkeyes showed that they needed a primary ball handler to lead the offense. Davis adds that ball handling ability to the lineup and more, which is why this is a big land for Coach Lisa Bluder.