Arkansas now tasked to play without 2 key players
In the midst of his worst season as head coach of Arkansas basketball, Eric Musselman is now facing the challenge of being without the two players who entered the 2023-24 season as undoubted leaders for the Razorbacks.
Redshirt sophomore forward Trevon Brazile missed the entire second half of last Wednesday's loss at Ole Miss due to knee soreness, and he wasn't able to play in Saturday's home loss to Kentucky. Musselman said after the 63-57 loss to the Wildcats that Brazile was not close to being ready to play.
"He did not do anything practice-wise," Musselman said. "I will tell you that. So when he comes back, I don't know. Knee soreness - I doubt you're gonna wake up, you know, tomorrow's what Sunday, I doubt you're gonna wake up Sunday or Monday if you were unable to practice, and unable to give it a try tonight."
Arkansas did receive great performances from big-men Chandler Lawson, Jalen Graham and Makhi Mitchell in the absence of Brazile against Kentucky. That trio combined for 25 points, 22 rebounds and seven blocks against a Wildcats team that the Hogs out-rebounded, 44-39.
"Our bigs were phenomenal," Musselman said. "I thought that was the best game that Khi Mitchell has played for us since he’s been here. I through Graham and Lawson battled and did all they could do against a super talented front line."
Being without Brazile, a 6-foot-10 preseason All-SEC player, was tough enough, but the team also released a statement moments before the Kentucky game that senior guard Davonte "Devo" Davis is stepping away from the team.
RELATED: Davonte Davis steps away from Arkansas basketball team
Musselman had no further comment on Davis' situation, which marks the second time in the past two seasons he has stepped away from the team. Davis also stepped away late in Nov. 2022.
It's been a surprisingly tough senior year for Davis, who is averaging 6.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Davis hasn't scored double-digit points since Dec. 30 against UNC Wilmington and he last played just seven minutes in Wednesday's loss at Ole Miss.
With plenty of people quick to react on social media without knowing the full situation — which hasn't been made public — former Hog Jaylin Williams, who played two seasons with Davis, had his former teammate's back on X (formerly Twitter).
It remains to be seen if Davis will return to the team, and it seems day-to-day for the availability of Brazile. The Razorbacks sit with a 10-10 overall record and they are 1-6 in conference play, so it would take a miracle for them to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Musselman has had to tinker with his lineup all season long looking for answers, and he will likely keep doing so without the two players who represented the team at SEC Media Day on Oct. 18.
"As a coach, as a leader of the program, effort, enthusiasm, energy, connectivity — our roster is what it is right now, so all those things are what you want," Musselman said after the Kentucky game. "Look, I know people are walking out of the building and we don’t have a good SEC record, but if you walk out of the building and didn’t think we played hard, then you’re wrong. Because we did play hard."
On a positive note, Musselman did say that his team played more connected than they have all in recent weeks Saturday against Kentucky.
"I’ve not been happy with the effort over the course of the last couple of weeks," Musselman said. "Tonight, I’ve got to go in that locker room and tell them we’ve got to get ready for Missouri. And I can’t fault their effort...I don’t fault the connectivity that the team had and I do not fault their effort one bit tonight. I thought they played as hard as they could play."
Up next, the Razorbacks will travel to Columbia, Missouri, on Wednesday for a matchup with the Missouri Tigers (8-12, 0-7 SEC). Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.