Musselman: Devo Just Wants To Be A Razorback

Loyalty in college basketball is rare but Davonte Davis bucks the trend.

Author:
Jacob Davis
Publish date:
Nov 22, 2023 9:02 AM EST

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PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Committed. That's probably the best way to sum up Arkansas senior guard Davonte Davis as leads the Razorbacks basketball team to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

He's shown at every possible turn how deeply committed he is to every aspect that comes with being an Arkansas athlete. In addition, according to his stats line and head coach Eric Musselman, he has a commitment to generating a record low number of turnovers this season.

Razorbacks fans and the college basketball world were given an opportunity to witness the raw emotions sports can stir when Musselman and Davis embraced each other following the Razorbacks upset victory over No.1 seed Kansas in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Musselman called Davis’s 25-point performance “absolutely incredible,” before stating “I feel like he’s my son. I love this kid so much.”

There’s a reason the Jacksonville, Arkansas native has stayed with his in-state school for the entirety of his career. Some players are just built differently with a team-first mentality. Musselman says he has never wondered where Davis’ loyalty lies.

“[Davis] has never come to me about transferring or looking somewhere else,” Musselman said. “He just wants to be a Razorback. Certainly, everyone wants to play at the next level. We've never had one staff meeting wondering if Devo is committed.”

‘Devo’ as everyone calls him, has built relationships with everyone affiliated with the Razorback program. Not just his head coach, but Danyelle Musselman and top assistant Anthony Ruta. He wants to leave his stamp on the program with authenticity.

“There is a lot of cool things that have happened,” Musselman said. “It’s really unique for someone to play at one place in today's college landscape and not leave early for the pros or transfer. This just doesn't happen quite often. Quite frankly, I don't know if we've ever had a conversation about him leaving other than discussions about testing the waters.”

Following the 2022-23 season, Davis' professional stock was never higher as a college athlete. His offensive game expanded from being a short to midrange shooting threat to being an adequate three point shooter.

Limiting the amount of turnovers so far this season seems to be the final bullet point of Davis’ growth in college. The 6-foot-3 guard has played 122 minutes this season and has yet to commit a turnover. That's coming off a career high 72 turnovers last season at a shade over two per contest. Despite not playing a power conference opponent through four games, zero turnovers on the season at that amount of playing time is an exceptional feat. Much of that has to do with Musselman’s trust of Davis in critical moments.

"As a coach, you want to have a relationship where you can read a player before something happens,” Musselman said. “I know Devo like a son."