FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas freshman Davonte “Devo” Davis had seven more rebounds than the SEC’s active career leader Tuesday night in the Razorbacks’ 61-45 victory against Mississippi State.
Bulldogs 6-11 senior Abdul Ado had one rebound to give him a career total of 701.
Davis, a 6-3 guard from Jacksonville, finished with a season-high eight rebounds. He now has a career total of 61.
“He’s just sneaky,” Arkansas 7-3 sophomore Connor Vanover said of Davis’ penchant for getting rebounds although he’s always one of the shorter players on the court. “He knows how to get in there, wiggle around other people and just snatch rebounds and get loose balls.
“He’s just really good at that, and it was really big for us because he was able to do that a lot of different times.”
Davis helped Arkansas outrebound Mississippi State 45-34 after the Bulldogs came into the game leading the SEC in rebound margin at plus-8.7.
“Me, I don’t just go after rebounds,” Davis said. “I attack them. I try to get every one I can.”
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman seemingly can’t mention Davis without also saying “loose ball getter” in the sentence. The most recent example was his radio interview with 103.7-FM, The Buzz in Little Rock on Friday.
“We want [Davis] to be an incredible loose ball getter and an incredible rebounder for his position,” Musselman said. “In reality, I think he does those skills next level. He’s elite at getting loose balls.”
As well as Davis has rebounded, he’s also helping the Razorbacks in other ways. He has scored 10 or more points in six games with a high of 20 against Georgia. He’s also played point guard, shooting guard and small forward while providing solid defense at all three.
Over the past three games, Davis has averaged 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.3 assists and 29.7 minutes while hitting 17 of 33 shots (51.5%).
Davis has played in 17 games, including four starts, and is averaging 6.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 18.5 minutes while hitting 50 of 102 shots (49%), including 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 12 of 18 free throws.
“It’s going very well,” Davis said. “I’m learning a lot on and off the court. I’m going to continue to do that.
“That’s all I’m looking forward to — doing a good job in the classroom and translating it to the court. Just continuing to play my role and do what I have to do to help the team out and win games.”
Arkansas assistant coach David Patrick, hired last spring after Davis already had signed with the Razorbacks, became a big fan quickly.
“Love him,” Patrick said. “Man, he’s like a lightbulb in practice. His energy and what he brings to the game is how he practices.
“As a coach, you always want consistency, right? You always want guys to practice hard and play hard.
“That’s not always easy when you have a long season. But Devo’s energy and enthusiasm from Day One is why you’re seeing him play now. He’ll make some highlight-reel plays, and he’ll make some mistakes here and there. But his effort makes up for the mistakes that he makes as a freshman.”
Musselman also has made a point of praising Davis’ defense.
“We want him to guard one of the best perimeter players every night that we go play,” Musselman said on The Buzz.
That assignment included guarding 6-8 Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham — projected as the possible No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft — down the stretch of the Cowboys’ 81-77 victory over the Razorbacks on Jan. 30.
“When you’re playing Cade Cunningham, there are probably some guys before the game that are nervous about playing him, because he can embarrass you, he’s that good,” Musselman said on his radio show. “Devo doesn’t even think like that. He thinks, ‘I’m going to play another good player.’
“And you’ve got to have some of that. But I think the biggest thing is his toughness. The belief in himself. The belief that he can get by anybody, which he can.
“We have very few players that are one-on-one, get into the teeth of the defense past their man players. Davonte Davis is one of them. JD Notae is one of them.
“That’s why sometimes when the offense stagnates, you need those guys in to get by their man. Because if you have five players out on the floor that cannot get by their man, then you’re relying on shot-making ability way too much.”
After home games, Davis often comes back onto the court to do extra shooting, even if he played extensively.
Davis played 36 minutes against Mississippi State — and had 10 points in addition to those eight rebounds — but he came back onto the court for extra shooting work. He capped the postgame workout by hitting a half-court shot.
“I’m an energy guy, and I feel I had a couple percentage points [of energy] left,” Davis said. “So I just went out there like I do after every game and shot, do what I can to perfect my craft. Just me going out there and shooting, that can help me out a lot.”
Davis took some half-court shots after being challenged by teammate Ethan Henderson.
“I made it on my second try,” Davis said. “Ethan tried to say I couldn’t make it in less than four tries.”
Davis joked that he made Henderson mad and run to the locker room.
“This team is very fun to play with,” Davis said. “I enjoy it, and I love this program for sure.”