Devo Davis Receives Highest Accolade an Arkansas Basketball Player Can Receive

Razorback guard finds himself on most elite of lists

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Jan 27, 2023 12:51 PM EST
Original:
Jan 26, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – There are accolades in college sports that are nice to have and then there are things mean the world and stick for a lifetime.

Late Wednesday afternoon, former Arkansas national championship coach Nolan Richardson proclaimed his love Razorback guard Davonte Davis one of his all-time favorite players while talking with DriveTime Sports on 103.7 The Buzz in Little Rock..

"Devo to me has always been one of my all-time favorites because he's one of the few in the country who plays so hard on both ends," Richardson said. "A lot of guys play hard on one end and play pretty good on the other, but he plays hard on both ends of the floor and he's relentless."

Based on the comments by Arkansas guard Davonte Davis and Eric Musselman after the win over LSU Tuesday night, Davis probably didn't hear it because he was most likely in the gym putting in work.

The Jacksonville native has worked himself into a player who could have fit in any era and would have definitely been a target for Richardson as a recruit.

"Those are the kind of guys who win you championships," Richardson said. "You've got a few of those on the team."

While the 90s Razorbacks didn't have captains, they did have natural leaders. For the national championship team, it was Corey Beck, whom Richardson sees a lot of in Davis.

We had a guy that everyone paid attention to big time and that was Corey Beck and to some degree Clint McDaniel.

"My guards Clint McDaniel and Corey Beck were really tough guys," Richardson said. "They played hard every day in practice and every game, so the leadership is there. Leadership to me is developing your practice workout. Some guys take a day off or a week of in practice, but those guys they came to work every single day."

That's the model Richardson sees in Davis.

"I still believe that when you get those kind of players like the Devos, you don't have to be a guy who is out there barking it," Richardson said. "You got to be the guy who is out there showing it."

And show it he has. Despite the hype guard Anthony Black brings with him and responsibilities he carries on the floor, he's quick to affirm that he sees the same things in Davis that Richardson does.

"He’s playing how we expect him to play and a little better," Black said. "Knocking down shots, commanding the offense most of the time and being a leader. Just being Devo – playing with a lot of energy and taking their best player out of the game every time, making them look like how they don't usually look."

By comparing Davis to those players, the former Hall of Fame coach labeled him a winner before he got off the air.

"There are those who play to play and those who play to win," Richardson said. "The guys I had on those teams, they certainly played to win."

And if Arkansas is to keep winning, it will need to rely heavily on one of Richardson's favorite Razorbacks of all time.

Davonte Davis.