FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas guard Davonte "Devo" Davis "stepped away from the program," according to an official press release moments before the Razorbacks tipped off their 63-57 loss to sixth-ranked Kentucky on Saturday.
Pressed about Davis’ situation following the game, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman deferred to an 11-word press release sent by basketball communications director Mike Cawood before the game.
“Arkansas senior guard Davonte Davis has stepped away from the program,” the release stated.
“I’m just going to stick with [the statement],” Musselman said.
Davis, a senior who was key to deep NCAA Tournament runs by the Razorbacks in 2021, 2022 and 2023, is averaging 6.3 points and 4 rebounds and has started 18 games this season. His decision not to play against Kentucky came three days after he was benched for the majority of Arkansas’ 77-51 loss at Ole Miss.
In that game, Davis did not play after the 6:50 mark of the first half for what Musselman described as a coach’s decision. Musselman sidestepped questions about Davis during a media availability Friday.
Around the same time, Davis was participating in a community outreach event at Holcomb Elementary School in Fayetteville. Davis was in attendance as a company presented a check to be put toward a basketball court renovation at the school. He also played basketball in the school’s arena and signed autographs.
Davis has been involved in local schools this year as part of his DEVOted Readers program that promotes literacy skills.
Davis, a Jacksonville native, became a household name in Arkansas as a freshman when his 8-foot jump shot with 3.1 seconds remaining gave the Razorbacks a 72-70 victory over Oral Roberts at the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. Davis scored in double figures in each tournament game as a freshman and averaged 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in the postseason.
As a sophomore, Davis scored 14 points during a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Vermont and hit a pair of late free throws to help put away top-seeded Gonzaga at the Sweet 16 in San Francisco.
He played arguably his best during a second-round victory over No. 1 seed Kansas at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Davis scored 21 of his team-high 25 points in the second half and added 8 rebounds as the Razorbacks defeated the Jayhawks 72-71 in Des Moines, Iowa.
That performance followed a 16-point, 4-rebound, 4-steal performance against Illinois in the tournament’s first round.
In 11 career NCAA Tournament games, Davis averaged 12 points and the Razorbacks had an 8-3 record.
Davis was voted to the SEC’s all-defensive team as a junior and was a preseason All-SEC pick going into this season. He scored double figures in four consecutive games in November before North Carolina held him scoreless in 22 minutes at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
His scoring production has dipped since. In 6 SEC games, Davis averaged 4 points and 2.7 rebounds in an average of 23.5 minutes per game. He was held scoreless in 11 minutes at Florida and 7 minutes at Ole Miss, and was ejected after he received a Flagrant 2 foul with 4:41 remaining in the Razorbacks’ only SEC win, over Texas A&M on Jan. 16.
Davis also received a Flagrant 1 foul during the second half of a loss to Auburn in the Jan. 6 conference opener.
This is the second time in two seasons Davis has taken time away from the team. He missed the Razorbacks’ 74-61 victory over Troy on Nov. 28, 2022, for an undisclosed reason. That followed an overtime victory over San Diego State at the Maui Invitational in which Davis did not play after halftime.
When he returned to the program in 2022 he thanked a number of people, including Musselman, “for the support shown to me this last week.”