Davonte Davis on improved shooting: ‘Putting that work in, baby’

A week ago, Arkansas was a loser of four straight. But in the last two games, the Razorbacks have gotten back on track, securing comfortable home victories over LSU and Mississippi State. Of course, it was their defense that led the way in both of those victories, but there’s also a recent positive trend on the offensive end of the ball over the last handful of games in the form of junior guard Davonte “Devo” Davis.

Davis started the year off in a massive slump from beyond the arc. He’s never been a strong outside shooter, but in year three, an improvement from deep was expected. Instead, he made just seven of his first 39 three-point tires — good for just under 18%. An abysmal number. However, in his last five games, Devo caught fire, making 10 of 20 for an even 50% clip beyond the arc.

He’s not just shooting it better from three, either. Davis is scoring at a much higher rate overall now compared to the rest of the year. During this five-game heater, he’s scored 16 points each time out and just completed a 5-6 (2-2 from three) shooting performance against LSU earlier in the week. The Hogs are getting star-level production out of their best true guard.

After the win over LSU, Davis was asked what the secret sauce is to his recent scoring burst. He says it’s all about the work he’s put in.

“Been working it, baby,” Davis responded when asked, noting that he’s always in the gym now. “But nah, I be putting that work in for real. And I’m glad it’s paying off, because I mean — so, I’ll be in the gym every day, like all day, two to three times a day, trying to make shots like I am now.”

He wants his heightened work ethic to rub off on the rest of the team, so they can all improve and win more games together.

“So I’m just gonna continue to work hard, you know what I mean, and continue to put my work in and make sure all these guys doing the same thing. And we’re gonna continue to get better as a team and continue to win, you know what I mean. We dug ourselves a hole in it so we got to bounce back from our the few losses we had and we ready for Baylor Saturday.”

Eric Musselman’s group travels to Waco this weekend for a road matchup at Baylor. A massive test for the Hogs, who have struggled mightily on the road this year. Sure, the LSU and MSU wins were necessary and positive results, but the real test is hanging in there against a quality opponent on the road. Baylor certainly provides that challenge.