FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas freshman guard Davonte Davis got his first extended college playing time Wednesday and made the most of it.
Davis had season highs of 14 points, 7 rebounds and 16 minutes played in Arkansas' 79-44 victory over Southern — a hastily-arranged replacement game for both teams at Bud Walton Arena.
“Devo Davis continues to get better,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “He has got an incredible work ethic. I thought his reaction to loose balls was phenomenal. He played the one (point guard), two (shooting guard) and the three (small forward) for us tonight. I thought he was more comfortable at the two and even the three spot, but he rebounded the ball really well and I thought he had great shot selection as well.”
A high school star for Jacksonville who averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists as a senior last season, the 6-3, 180-pound Davis was 5 of 8 from the field, made his only 3-point attempt and cashed in all three of his free throws.
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“Coming into the game and not knowing how many minutes I was going to play, I just wanted to go out there and play my hardest to help the team win,” Davis said. “Just going into practice every day, working hard and putting in all the effort I possibly can, being patient and waiting my turn. When I get in the game, just play hard and get loose balls. That is what I do good and what I have been good at so far.
“The scoring is something I have been working on and it came into play today.”
Davis had played just 27 minutes overall in the previous four games. He led six players in double figures for Arkansas (5-0) against Southern (0-3).
“Devo has not flinched since the day he stepped on campus,” Musselman said. “It has not been easy for him. He has been behind a lot of players. He is slowly moving ahead of players because of his ability in practice to not flinch and work. He is not a good loose ball getter, he is a great loose ball getter. He should be an elite defender. He is going to continue to get better as a shooter. He is not a point guard now, but he is going to continue to work on that because playing the point in the SEC is not an easy thing.
“His job tonight between the two and the three spot, he was as good as anybody that played tonight. I can tell you that. Not only did he get his hands on loose balls, but he got deflections, he runs the floor and he can create off the bounce. But there is a learning curve for Devo as well, but I thought tonight was phenomenal for his confidence and I thought his teammates were really excited to have him out on the floor.”
Jalen Tate, Moses Moody and JD Notae all had 12 points, and Justin Smith and Desi Sills scored 11 apiece in a game that featured an early 17-0 run by the Razorbacks.
Sills was impressed with Davis’ performance, but not surprised.
“The way Devo played tonight was very impressive, but it didn’t shock me because I know what Devo Davis can do,” Sills said. “He is an energy guy, willing to guard the best and you can see he can also score the ball.
“He's a dog, he's hungry, so when gets in the game, he is going to do whatever it takes to win. I think you saw that tonight.”
Davis’ seven rebounds were Arkansas' second most against Southern. Connor Vanover, a’ 7-3 sophomore, had 3 points, a team-high 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and and 3 steals.
“Just coming in and being able to crash the boards both offense and defense is something that I have always done well,” Davis said.
“I just know I have to do all I can to get on the floor.”
Arkansas is scheduled to host Central Arkansas on Saturday at 7 p.m., but Musselman mentioned that it almost turned into a two-game weekend set in Fayetteville.
“I can tell you that once we lost our game with Tulsa, we actually talked to Central Arkansas if we couldn’t find another opponent about potentially playing them Friday and Saturday night,” Musselman said. “They were open to the idea and I have great respect for their coaching staff because they were open to it and we had great dialogue back and forth.
“When we did the original schedule with Central Arkansas, they jumped all over it and said, ‘Hey, you guys pick a date. They were more than accommodating in wanting to play this game and, like I said, I have great respect for them wanting to play and even to be willing to talk and have conversation about a potential two-game series this weekend if we couldn’t get another game.”