OSU Basketball: Davonte Davis Could Star For Cowboys Next Season
Oklahoma State has rebuilt its roster through the portal, and one of its most experienced transfers could be a difference maker.
After a rough 2023-24 season, the Cowboys fired seven-year coach Mike Boynton, clearing the way for a weeks-long coaching search that ended with Western Kentucky’s Steve Lutz taking over in Stillwater. In the time without a coach, many of OSU’s most impactful players from last season entered the transfer portal.
OSU's leading scorer, Javon Small, went to West Virginia, while freshmen frontcourt stars Eric Dailey Jr. and Brandon Garrison committed to UCLA and Kentucky, respectively. Along with those stars, the Cowboys lost a number of role players to the portal, and others ran out of eligibility.
Those departures led to a scarce roster that needed to be filled. Among those coming in, almost none have the experience and accolades of Arkansas transfer Davonte Davis. In four seasons at Arkansas under coach Eric Musselman, Davis thrived and became one of the best defenders in the conference.
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In the 2022-23 season, Davis was selected to the SEC All-Defense team. In that junior season, Davis averaged 10.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals. The Razorbacks made the Sweet 16 that season, with Davis scoring 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to lead his team past No. 1 seed Kansas in the Round of 32.
Throughout his career at Arkansas, Davis started 85 of 132 games across four seasons. In his first two years, Davis was instrumental in the Razorbacks’ back-to-back Elite Eight appearances.
Last season, Davis saw his numbers drop to some of the lowest of his career, averaging only 5.9 points in 27.4 minutes per game. Although Davis has been a solid defender throughout his career, the 6-foot-3 guard has mostly been an unpolished offensive player, shooting 42.3% from the floor and 29.4% from 3-point range for his career.
Still, as the Cowboys look to be competitive in the toughest conference in college basketball, adding a player with as much experience as Davis could be a significant help.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.