Eric Musselman raves about defensive value of Devo Davis

Few guards in the country had a better January and early February than Arkansas‘ Davonte Davis. In nine games from Jan. 11 to Feb. 7, Davis scored 15 or more points each time out while playing 38 minutes a night and shooting 44.7% from three on five attempts per game — a shooting boost the Hogs desperately needed from deep. However, he’s come down to earth a bit in four game since that scorcher and in part due to the return of five-star freshman Nick Smith. Instead of leading the show in the backcourt, Davis has let his offensive role recede a bit while giving Smith more space to get comfortable as a scorer himself.

It’s really a testament to Devo Davis’ unselfishness. That, in the midst of his hottest streak as a Razorback, he’s willing to step aside and let Smith shine even though he’d missed most of the season. But Davis and Eric Musselman both know this Arkansas team needs a healthy and confident version of Nick Smith to reach their peak. Normally, college upperclassmen would be stubborn to let an injured freshman take away some of their shot attempts, but Davis is willing to do that and fill whatever role he needs simply in order to win.

“I think what he’s done all year is he’s providing what we need,” Muss said of Davis after their latest win. “We needed him to be really offensively aggressive. His shot selection the last two games has been phenomenal. He’s having fun out there. This is a team right now, chemistry-wise on the court, this is as good as we’ve been.”

Their last time out, a blowout victory over Georgia, Musselman needed Davis’ defensive presence over everything else, since the Hogs had no trouble scoring against the Dawgs. Per Musselman, he’s always been a great defender though.

“Devo has been absolutely incredible. Not just tonight. Not just this year. I can go back to him guarding (Mac) McClung and McClung just won the dunk contest and Devo in that tournament game was as good defensively as I’ve ever seen. He can take a star player and minimize the effectiveness of that player.”

That game against McClung came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament back in 2021, where Davis held him to just nine points when he had averaged over 15 on the year to help push Arkansas on to the Sweet Sixteen. And that was when Devo Davis was just a freshman too. Since then, he’s only developed into a better player and a terrific leader, according to his head coach.

“Devo’s a leader for us,” Musselman continued. “I feel like player-coach relationship with Devo, he and I kind of think alike. He’s got a competitive nature. The other guys all feed off his defense. He’s kind of the guy, it’s hard not to defend when you’re playing with Devo because he’s putting forth so much effort. When a player texts a coach and says ‘Hey, I want to see all the made baskets’ by the guy he’s being assigned to, that shows you the pride he takes. He’s such a huge part of everything we do.”

High praise for a high-impact player on the Arkansas roster.