FAYETTEVILLE — The first official practice of training camp for the Arkansas basketball team was Wednesday, but Eric Musselman has already gotten a glimpse of his 2020-21 squad in preseason workouts.
Although they are now permitted up to 20 hours of practice per week, the Razorbacks previously had four hours and then eight hours to work on the court together, giving their second-year coach a look at his team that features 10 new faces.
The gradual build up of practice time has proven especially beneficial for those newcomers, which includes the heralded 2020 signing class. All four freshmen are from Arkansas and were rated as four-star recruits and Rivals150 prospects.
Expectations are high for that group, but Musselman said it could take some time for them to fully adjust to the college level.
“Certainly our system, the way that we implement things, is - I would say - drastically different than a lot of colleges because we add things so quickly and we have so many sets,” Musselman said. “Our defensive schemes are a little bit more complicated maybe at times than a normal college.
“I think there’s going to be a learning curve for younger players, but I do think that each of them brings something different to the table.”
The quartet has shown flashes in practices so far, but Musselman said he wants all of them to continue working on being more consistent day in and day out.
Based on what their teammates have seen, it is probably safe to say the freshmen have the work ethic to do just that.
“I’d say they’ve done a good job of coming in and buying into the culture of work,” graduate transfer Justin Smith said. “They’re in the gym just as much as everybody else, if not more, and they’re really learning. They’re picking things up really quickly. I look forward to seeing their development over the year.”
Here is a rundown of all four players and what Musselman and their teammates have seen from them leading up to training camp…
Davonte Davis
The lowest ranked of the signees at No. 129 in the Rivals150, Davis - a Jacksonville native - has made his presence felt through hustle plays in practice.
“Devo Davis, the one thing he’s done a really good job of is getting loose balls and long rebounds and stuff like that,” Musselman said. “That’s one area that he has done a good job for our team as well so far in the offseason workouts.”
Although he can do other things well, those type of plays - getting loose balls and rebounds - have stood out to the 6-foot-3 point guard’s teammates, including graduate transfer Jalen Tate.
