I admit I am kind of drawn to players who are fearless and seem to have short memories when they make mistakes.
Devo is that guy. No matter what happens, good or bad or ugly, he remains on his aggressive game. He is the only primary ball handler on this team that shows courage to penetrate the zone and create offense. Dribble penetration to go to the hoop or pull up for jumpers or dish it off. Something I expected our McDonalds All American 5 star guard to do last night. But it was Devo who was doing that.
His passes remind me what you see NBA guards make. Yes, at times he is wild with passes. But just look at the stats from last night. Devo had only more TO than AB and the same number Ricky.
And defensively, there is no one better on this team. Last night, Devo virtually locked down #5, who was shooting 46% from the 3 and scoring 14 points per game.
And as far as fear factor, I thought after his verbal confrontation with Muss and a temporary leave, he would come back with a less aggressive game, trying to cut down mistakes. The guy has not changed one bit on his return,
I’m a Devo fan. He’s fearless. Some people may think he’s out of control (and he may be at times) but some of those passes may go to where he presumes someone will//should be. A solid cut, moving off the spot getting in position and being ready for the bullet pass by team mates could make him look like a magician, some of his interior passes are brilliant. Keep on keeping on Devo.
I am a declining fan, Devo seems to have anger reaction control issues that can cost us and it seems he is trying to establish independence from Muss. Just what I see and interpret, but I’m sure there is a need for that also and his fans should be able to point that out more clearly to me. He has evolved pretty far from his funny youtube vids where he is laughlingly punching a Muss cut out when Muss comes by to talk. I will give you that Devo tough is an invaluable team need. Shooting in the clutch is not as good as it should be for as much as he handles the ball. I fall on the positive Devo meter but have my doubts.
Devo is the proverbial “bull in a China shop”. He does a lot of good things, but he makes more than his share of mistakes. He is a good mid-range shooter who needs to stay away from the 3 point line. He dribbles too much and passes too little. A coach has to take the bad with the good on Devo. He does seem to shine in the clutch. He is fun to watch, but he probably drives Musselman up the wall.
Aloha,
Devo’s defense is outstanding. Great penetrating guard. His mid range jump shot is his best shot. Don’t understand why his free throw shooting is so good and his three point shot is not. Has too many turnovers to my liking. Best attribute besides his defense is his unpredictability when opposing teams are trying to strategize playing Arkansas. Nobody, I mean nobody knows what Devo is going to do. Devo is just being Devo…totally unpredictable. Devo is the most electrifying player on the team. His air time is incredible…flies like MJ. If his shooting gets hot, there will be seismic waves flowing from the Bud.
UA…Campus of Champions
Here is the turnover rate according to KenPom.
|Pinion|0|
|Johnson|12.8|
|Walsh|14.9|
|Council|15|
|MakhiM|15|
|Davis|16.5|
|MakhelM|19.2|
|Ford|20.7|
|Black|24|
|Graham|26.2|
|Dunning|38.6|
The kenpom definition is as follows. Turnover Rate (TORate): This is the percentage of personal possessions used on turnovers. It can be highly dependent on context. Players that do little passing or dribbling (i.e. spot-up shooters) will have an artificially deflated TO%.
Devo is the highest rate of the high minute guys, but not by a huge amount.
IMHO, there is a perception issue with Devo’s turnovers. When he does make them they are flamboyant and very frustrating. . The dribble off the foot that doesn’t raise the hackles that a flashy cross court pass that misses by 15 foot does.
In our game threads I often use the terms, “Devo being Devo,” and “Devo doing Devo things.”
I absolutely love the kid, and he might be one of the only players to ever play 4 years for Muss.
Some of his passes are nothing short of spectacular, but then he will make a few passes where spectacular wasn’t needed…and end up 10 rows up in the stands.
In short, sometimes he drives me nuts, as I can tell he does Muss too, but I wouldn’t want to lose Devo under any circumstances. His mid-range jumper is pretty, and he plays HARD.
Most importantly, he is All-Hog, fearless, and he definitely keeps things interesting.
I like Devo a lot. I am not sure he will be back for his Sr year. I would very much like to think he would be but with the transfer portal as it is nowadays he very well may not.
Don’t know what he will do next year, or even how he performs the remainder of this year and maybe I am biased in my opinion by his defense, effort and apparent passion, but it seems to me a great many people under estimate Devo and he proves them wrong.
Devo is a very important and integral part of this very talented team. His importance is magnified on this team with the continued absence of Nick. If you trust Muss, you should trust Devo. In the 3 years Devo’s been here, Muss has given him 23.9 minutes per game as a freshman, then 27.6 minutes as a soph., and 30.7 minutes this season so far. That’s a lot of trust by Muss.
The one thing that fans complain about Devo the most is his turnovers. The one category that Devo has improved on every year is his assist to turnover ratio. It’s gone from 1.3 to 1.5 to 1.6. Those are all positive numbers. This is a great example of why Muss continues to trust Devo.
His 1.6 ratio leads the team this season, and it’s really not close. Mahki (1.4) is actually 2nd on the team and Black is 3rd (with 1.3) We have multiple players that have had negative (less than1) ratio numbers. For those who wonder why Mahki gets so many more minutes than Mahkel, this is one of several reasons.
I think Devo fits the profile of a player that would be back for his SR year and I really hope he is…but does he decide he wants to go somewhere that he is not overshadowed by incoming freshmen 5 stars who will be given the keys to the car?
In these new days of NIL I don’t see him going anywhere that the money would be better.
Devo is all hog for sure. The Movie good the bad and the ugly describes his play accurately! You never know what he is going to do but we all know he make something happen. He is the heart of our hogs. Devo leaves it all out on the floor. He can continue to improve and he will.