Following the program's announcement that Arkansas senior guard Davonte Davis was stepping away from the team ahead of its matchup against Kentucky on Jan. 27, head coach Eric Musselman said during his live radio show on Monday night that the Preseason All-SEC Second Team member has returned and is practicing.
“Devo and I met yesterday, we had a great conversation in my office," Musselman said. "Followed it up with him and I lifting weights together. And then he went into the gym on his own and got shots up.
"He is back with the team, he practiced today and we’re excited to have him back. He’s excited to be back with us and he had a good practice today. Tweaked his ankle a little bit his first day back, as did a couple other guys."
Through 19 games of the 2023-24 season, Davis is averaging 6.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 35.5% from the field, 23.9% from beyond the arch and 74.2% from the charity stripe. Despite his career-low numbers, the Jacksonville native is still an important member of the team.
“I think if you take any preseason all-league players off of any team, if you took two of them off the roster, there’d be some struggles," Musselman said. "But the fact of the matter is, when you have injuries, players aren’t with your team, people don’t talk about that. They just talk about the results, which we’re in a results business because there’s a scoreboard hanging up for 40 minutes."
During his three-game hiatus — a loss to Kentucky, win over Missouri and loss to LSU — Davis still made sure to keep constant communication with the staff and his teammates.
“He was communicating with them, Danyelle my wife was texting Devo and we were in communication with his grandmother," Musselman said. "We were in communication with his mother, in communication with his AAU coach. Like I said, he and I had a great meeting and (he’s) back with us.”
Davis and Arkansas (11-11, 2-7 SEC) will hit the court again on Saturday, as the Hogs welcome the Georgia Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5 SEC) inside Bud Walton Arena. The game is set to tip off at 5 p.m. CT and will broadcast on the SEC Network.
