Three NBA Razorbacks, Davis Show Hard Work Can Drastically Change Game

Not all basketball players want to face weakness, but proof is results for Arkansas hoops stars

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Jul 10, 2023 5:12 PM EDT

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – When Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams was at Arkansas, he shot 25% from three. When he started shooting from long range more regular, 71 attempts in his final season, his average fell from 30% to a paltry 23.9%.

He was typically a post player with moderate range whose path to the NBA was predicated more on his defensive effort, so shooting the three wasn't an expected part of his arsenal. However, as the highlights piled up on Twitter over the course of his NBA rookie season, clips of Williams knocking down threes became rather common.

Even though history dictated that he more shots from behind the arc he took, the lower his percentage fell, and that common sense says it should be harder to make threes in the NBA with the extra distance and presumably better defense, Williams made 41% of the 113 threes he took. That's 20 more threes than he took his entire college career. Yet, he improved by roughly 16% in more difficult circumstances.

Fast forward a few months to Jordan Walsh's debut as a Boston Celtic. The biggest complaint about him was that he needed to get better at shooting from beyond the arc. The line of people clamoring for him to return to Arkansas to learn how to shoot from the outside so he could improve his draft stock was long.

Yet, here he was on an NBA floor proving everyone wrong. He was 4-of-6 from 3-point range as he introduced himself to Celtics fans with 18 points and five rebounds. The last time he shot that many threes was in the SEC opener against LSU where he went 1-of-8 that spurred a six game stretch where he finished 1-of-17 from behind the arc during what was a difficult, frustrating series of games for the freshman.

Anthony Black, a former Razorback who went No. 6 to the Orlando Magic, was dogged with similar criticism for his outside shooting. And while he didn't take as many shots from deep as Walsh, he finished the night 50% from three, bringing the house down as much as possible for a summer league game with an acrobatic launch from deep while being fouled.

Black finished his debut with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals on 70% shooting. He didn't blow the roof off the place from deep like Walsh, but did show that he can be a threat if needed. Besides, anyone who saw Black's workouts last month knows he's gotten better with the long ball.

So, what's going on? Why are these players leaving Arkansas and getting better shooting 3-pointers all of the sudden? Walsh made it pretty clear following his game. He was forced to work on it more.

“Not only did they encourage me to shoot it, they forced me to,” Walsh said. “Them believing in me and giving me the opportunity and telling me to shoot it, that’s the biggest part because it puts confidence in me, and that builds confidence in the team for sure.”

Think back to all those videos we saw of Walsh and Black. The only time you really saw them doing what they already did well at Arkansas was when teams told them to demonstrate those skills. The rest of the time the videos showed the pair shooting three after three after three.

Here's a little bit of shocking news. If a player wants to turn a weakness into a strength it takes practice. Lots of practice. Not a lot of college players have that kind of drive. Yet, there is one example of similar growth shooting the long ball on the Razorbacks.

Senior guard Davonte Davis was terrible at shooting threes when he arrived at Arkansas. He hit only 15% from deep his freshman year. That rose a little the following year to 27%, but it still wasn't great. Then, after getting off to a poor start from beyond the arc last season, Davis locked in on getting better. Hours and hours were poured into turning a weakness into a strength.

Soon, one of the weakest 3-point shooters in the SEC became one of its best. While the team's average went up during SEC play, it wasn't because of the three NBA prospects on the floor every night. The heavy lifting from three was done by Davis. He shot 41% in conference play and made more than twice as many threes as anyone else on the team. During the final three games of the regular season, he went 8-of-14 from three. When Musselman was asked how that transition happened, the answer was as simple as it was expected – work.

Work begets improvement. When Black, Walsh and Williams were put into a situation where they had to improve on that part of their game to ensure an NBA paycheck, they put in the time. Musselman didn't keep them from doing the same when they were in college. Classes may have, but definitely not Musselman.

That's why having Davis back as a leader for this team is so important. It provides an example on the team of what putting in that extra work can do. Musselman can point to the growth from Walsh, Black and Williams, but Davis adds the peer pressure. No one can whine about their work and not improving when he's in the gym at midnight sharpening his shot instead of closing down the night life on Dixon.

The proof is there. Not being afraid of an aspect of their game that makes them less than stellar is the path to greatness. If this team will follow the example of these four Razorbacks to improve their game, this could be a magical year.
Hard work is hard work, especially outside a person's comfort zone. But that's how money and success come about.