Eric Musselman challenged Devo Davis to become a leader after the team’s spell of bad luck during the 2022-23 basketball season. He became the best player during the Razorbacks’ postseason run.
So far, Musselman has been able to get three players out of the NBA Draft, Davis being the latest.
Musselman didn’t know whether or not his floor general would return until the May 31st deadline for players to take their names out of the NBA Draft pool.
“We really did not know about Devo’s decision until the very, very end,” Musselman said. “So, we’re putting together the roster, not knowing what Devo might do. We truly didn’t know what he was going to do as he was going through that process. Obviously, his NBA workout with the Bucks happened the day before the deadline, so he’s in Milwaukee the day before the deadline to either keep your name in the draft or come back to play college basketball.”
Davis will be returning to an entirely new roster from top to bottom. He will be the only returning starter leading a group of transfers new to the Razorbacks’ system.
Musselman is confident he will fit in with the new roster.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can play multiple positions,” Musselman said.
“You look defensively at a guy like T-Mark (Tramon Mark) from Houston, and he’s got great versatility defensively. Those two guys together defensively are really, really good because Mark guarded a lot of guys with Houston, their opposing best wings. Devo has done that for us now for three years.”
Davis’s exceptional performance in the NCAA Tournament, where he scored 16 points in the first round and 25 points in the next game, has set him up to end his college career on a high note. Another good run could help his potential draft stock for the 2024 NBA Draft.