FAYETTEVILLE — DaShaun Stark has been added to the Arkansas men’s basketball roster as a walk-on.
The former Springdale High guard began his career at Drury, a Division II program in Springfield, Missouri, where he played for two seasons before transferring to Arkansas to focus on school.
With eight players from last year’s team no longer on the roster for various reasons, several friends and family members encouraged Stark to try out for the Razorbacks.
“To be honest, I thought I had put down basketball forever,” Stark said. “A lot of my family and friends said, ‘Arkansas needs bodies. You could fit in their system.’”
He reached out to his high school basketball coach, Brad Stamps, who helped set up a meeting with Arkansas coach Mike Anderson.
Still, he was hesitant. The night before the meeting, Stark went to bed with the intent of telling Anderson he didn’t want to play. When he woke up, though, he had a change of heart and asked for a tryout.
“I’ve always thought that I could play at this level," Stark said. “I may not be a star, but I feel like I could compete. Once the opportunity arose, I guess it was the competitor in me that said, ‘Why not try it?’”
A few days later, Stark scrimmaged with the team in front of the coaching staff and was asked to come back.
However, the two weeks leading up to that point were a process for Stark, who had to get back in shape to prove that he could handle Anderson’s “Fastest 40” style.
He called Paige White, who he trained with in high school and during the summers while at Drury, to help him.
“I told her that I had a very short amount of time to get in the best shape I possibly could,” Stark said. “She killed me, but I’m here because of her.”
While he still has a ways to go, Stark is beginning to regain the form that helped him earn all-state honors at Springdale, where he averaged 13.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
He signed with Drury and played in 20 games – scoring 22 points – as a freshman. The next season, he worked his way into the starting lineup. He started 16 times and averaged 3.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
Stark’s first collegiate game was against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in an exhibition game. Despite playing only nine minutes, he stuffed the stat sheet: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal.
In the semifinals of the conference tournament last season, Stark made a layup in the final minute to force overtime and knocked down a pair of free throws in overtime to help Drury to a 68-67 win.
“(My coach) told me that I played well in big moments,” Stark said. “That’s why I feel like if I can get on the court here, I can also succeed that way. I was nervous, but at the same time, it was just basketball.”
If he does get a chance to play, he’ll be the latest Northwest Arkansas product to contribute as a walk-on, as Fayetteville’s Kikko Haydar and Manny Watkins have done so in recent seasons.
Haydar started four games and played 12.3 minutes per game as a senior, while Watkins played 13.9 minutes per game last season before earning a scholarship this offseason.
“They were both really hard workers and that’s what got them on the court,” Stark said. “I feel like I have the work ethic to do it, I just have to go out there and do it.”
Because Stark transferred from Division II school to a Division I school, he will have to redshirt this season. He’ll have two seasons of eligibility after sitting out.
Whether he ever plays in an actual game or not, just having the opportunity is the fulfillment of a life-long dream for Stark, who moved to Springdale from Springfield, Missouri, shortly after his 10th birthday.
“Even when I was at Drury, I was still always wearing Razorback gear and I tried to come home to games as often as I could,” Stark said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be a Razorback.
“For it to be in front of me, I’m still in awe.”