FAYETTEVILLE — JD Notae’s mindset in the days since Arkansas’ basketball season was cut short is the same as it was prior to the numbing March 12 announcement that the SEC and NCAA tournaments were canceled.
He has continued to work on his game and his aim is to get better each day as he looks ahead to the 2020-21 season. That much has not changed, only his location is different.
“I’ve just been working on getting my jump shot off quicker,” Notae told WholeHogSports in a phone interview from his hometown of Covington, Ga. “I’m also working on my handles and finishing around the rim.”
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman, who wrapped up his first year in charge of the program at 20-12 overall, noted in a teleconference with reporters that players who take advantage of this unsupervised time with individual workouts will progress and see the biggest jumps in their play when the team reconvenes.
Around spending newfound time with friends and family at home, Notae has personally mapped out a way to make strides following his redshirt year. The 6-1, 185-pound guard said he has a Monday-Wednesday-Friday and Tuesday-Thursday workout regiment.
Three days per week, the transfer from Jacksonville trains on an outdoor court with someone he considers to be his greatest basketball influence: Marquis Gilstrap, a Covington native and former Iowa State standout.
Gilstrap's professional career took him to Turkey, Slovakia, Europe, the NBA’s D-League and Summer League.
“It’s good to have him because he’s been there before,” Notae said. “He’s got the knowledge of the game. He has told me you just have to work harder than everybody.”
And on days between those workouts, he is able to access a local gym thanks to one of his middle school coaches.
Having a practice facility available at all times is a perk Notae particularly enjoyed in his first season at Arkansas. At Jacksonville, he said, basketball players had to share the school’s gym with the women’s team, cheerleaders and the dance squad.
“That was one of the things he didn’t get the chance to do at Jacksonville,” said Corey Williams, an Arkansas assistant coach who previously was head coach at Stetson, which played in the Atlantic Sun Conference along with Jacksonville. “He’s one of those guys who really wants to work on his game. Now, it’s no limit to when and how he can do it.
“He’s taken full advantage of it now as a player and it’s certainly made him better.”
Williams' Stetson teams faced Notae head-to-head and he gained first-hand knowledge of Notae's competitive nature. In four games - all Jacksonville wins - against Williams’ teams during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, Notae averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.
On Jan. 30, 2019, he finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds against the Hatters.
“JD is the ultimate competitor. He competes,” Williams added. “I think he’s gotten a whole lot better than he was certainly when he first got here. He got a whole year to work on his game and he’s gotten better. I think he’s one of those guys at the end of the day, people will see the improvement that he’s made.
“Man, he plays hard and he’s learned how Muss wants him to play, and he understands what Muss wants. I think he’s only going to continue to get better.”
Notae, who at times would mimic opposing teams’ top guard during the Razorbacks' game prep, says he improved “a whole lot” during his development year. He used that time to focus on growing stronger, work on his jumper and tighten his handle.
Coaches say they witnessed an uptick in his confidence as a player, too.
“The sit-outs would practice with the team, but we would be doing development stuff,” Notae said. “Sometimes I’d get called in to sub for somebody, run a few plays and then I would get back out and go back to player development. It was pretty fun.”
Sitting on the bench during games also allowed him to gain a different perspective on the game.
“I saw a lot. It’s definitely different than being able to play,” Notae said. “It was exciting. I want my teammates to do well, too. Then again, I wanted to be out there with them.”
It is not unusual for players who transfer from smaller leagues to have to grow accustomed to the size and speed of the game in power conferences. Early on, that was the case with Notae.
He adapted well, though, Musselman said.
“That can be different,” Musselman said. “(He was) building his confidence up through scoring on people and those types of things. I think he’s going to be a more consistent 3-point shooter because he’s just put so much time into it on his own.”