Devo Davis candid while reflecting on season that did not live up to expectations

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arkansas guard Davonte “Devo” Davis was in uncharted territory Thursday afternoon in Bridgestone Arena.

The Razorbacks fell 80-66 to 5-seed South Carolina in the second round of the SEC Tournament, bringing their season to a close at 16-17 overall. It’s the program’s first losing-record finish since 2009-10.

Davis is accustomed to second-weekend NCAA Tournament runs and helping bring them to life with big shots, moments and performances. He’s not used to finishing under .500 and having a season end on the second day of the league tournament.

That was at the forefront of his mind in the postgame locker room Thursday. Davis, open and honest, offered his perspective on a tumultuous, up-and-down 2023-24 – which included his second leave of absence in as many seasons – that few, if any, saw coming six months ago.

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Davis said Arkansas played on its heels throughout the schedule, and all looked good on paper in the preseason roster-wise, but the group failed to live up to expectations.

“I thought it was [Final Four expectations], too, coming in, shoot, because all I knew was March Madness and getting to the tournament — deep in the tournament. Not to be able to go, difficult to deal with,” Davis added. “But knowing that, I guess, if everyone put both feet forward and tried, if they did, good. But if they didn’t, waste of time.

“I feel like it was more that could have been put out there within expectations and people putting everything out there on the court. It wasn’t done. But hey, you’ve got to deal with the trials and tribulations and continue to roll with them, man.”

Davis said he couldn’t play his game the way he really wanted. Entering Thursday’s game, Davis was averaging career lows in scoring, field goal attempts, field goal percentage, rebounds and steals.

“But I took it for the team and we still fell short, with me putting things under the cover, trying to do what’s best for the team,” Davis added. “We still didn’t follow our expectations.

“But it’s all good, because, I mean, it all will fall in God’s hands in the aspect of everybody being in position where they’re supposed to be at, and even after this.”

Davis briefly recalled the feeling of helplessness Wednesday night when he fouled out late in regulation against Vanderbilt with the game in the balance.

“Not knowing if we were going to win or not [was tough], but also [I knew] there was a few guys out there that I knew could pull the win in,” Davis said. “I feel that as a team [Wednesday] we pulled together and got it done. We could have did it today, but we didn’t. Just difficult knowing that whatever is next, hopefully everyone takes this and knows that, like, when things are on the line, you shouldn’t just put yourself first, you know what I mean?

“You should do it for the team. And not everybody did that.”

Davis, a Jacksonville native with a season of eligibility remaining, went through Senior Night festivities after Arkansas’ win over LSU on March 6, indicating that his time as a Razorback would soon end.

Asked Thursday about his future, he said he is taking it all day-by-day and step-by-step. He will be looking out for himself more in the future.

“I know moving forward how things go within the business aspect and things like that,” Davis said. “I look at it as…for myself a little bit more, you know what I mean? That’s what I see now within people around me. Of course being there for the team and things like that, but also taking care of myself as well, because I wasn’t doing that and so it made it difficult on me, and not everybody cares.

“Just looking forward to just seeing what’s next for me and making sure, like I said, [I am] taking care of myself.”