Johnell Davis blossoms in physical Arkansas debut

After a slow start in two preseason exhibition games, Arkansas graduate senior guard Johnell Davis blossomed in the Razorbacks’ season-opening 76-60 win over Lipscomb on Wednesday night inside Bud Walton Arena.

The former highly-touted Florida Atlantic transfer shot 7-of-12 from the floor (58.3%) with six rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and only two turnovers. According to HogStats, Davis is the first Razorback since Marshawn Powell in 2009 with 15+ points, 6+ rebounds, 1+ blocks and 1+ steals in a debut game.

Head coach John Calipari pointed out Davis’ physicality as a stand-out feature of his performance.

RELATED: Razorback Freshman Report: Fland leads all scorers vs. Lipscomb

“Well, you know what he did? He went at the rim,” Calipari said after the game. “Like we need, I kept saying, why are you shooting jump shots? Go to the rim, and he did it. You know, just go by people.

“Now, you may get bumped. It’s a harder play than shooting a jump shot. You go in, there’s a chance you might lose it. He may block it. He might bump you. How about this thought? I may miss a layup. If I miss a jump shot or a three, I’m okay. But if I miss a layup, that’s embarrassing. You can’t be in that mode. Just go.”

Davis was one of Arkansas’ top transfer portal pickups over the offseason not only for his prolific scoring ability, but because of his efficient shooting from deep (41.4% on 140 attempts with the Owls last season).

The 6-foot-4 guard only shot 1-of-4 from three against the Bisons — a microcosm of the Razorbacks’ 4-of-19 three-point shooting as a team — but that hasn’t swayed Calipari from believing the shots will start falling.

“You want to shoot threes? Make threes,” Calipari said. “Get in that gym. Prove it in the game. Create opportunities for each other so you can start making them. Throw it ahead. Drive the ball. Swing it, swing it. Three in transition.”

Arkansas was up as much as 15 points over Lipscomb before the Bisons made things interesting with a 9-0…

Source link : https://arkansas.rivals.com/news/johnell-davis-blossoms-in-physical-arkansas-debut?yptr=yahoo

Author : HawgBeat

Publish date : 2024-11-07 04:14:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.