By R.L. Bynum
A third Carolina starter officially announced Saturday afternoon that he’ll be back next season.
In a post on social media, RJ Davis said that he’ll return for his junior season.
“I thought I was leaving. Nah, let’s run it back,” Davis said in a video he posted on his Twitter account.
Davis, a 6–0, 175-pound guard from White Plains, N.Y., became the primary ball-handler during the second half of the season, and averaged 13.5 points last season while starting every game, with 66 3-pointers, 142 assists and 40 steals.
“RJ is Carolina basketball,” Coach Hubert Davis said. “He’s one of the best players in the country on the court and in the classroom and in the community. His smile, personality and character light up our team, our university and our community. Nothing brings me more joy than having RJ back for another season.
RJ Davis’ decision came after center Armando Bacot and wing Leaky Black both announced that they will return to play for UNC next season. A fourth starter, Caleb Love, will have to make some sort of decision the next day with 11:59 p.m. Sunday the deadline for players to submit their names into the NBA draft process.
The Tar Heels were 20–8 last season when Davis scored in double figures, 24–5 when he had more assists than turnovers, 15–4 when he had multiple 3-pointers and 5–0 when he scored at least 20 points.
Davis scored a career-high 30 points in UNC’s 93–86 overtime victory over Baylor in the second round of the NCAA tournament. He became the first player in Carolina basketball history with double-digit assists in one NCAA tournament game (12 against Marquette) and 30 points in the next.
The 12 assists against Marquette were the second-most by a Tar Heel in an NCAA tournament game behind only Kendall Marshall’s 14 assists in the second round against Washington in 2011.
Davis pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds in the national-championship game loss to Kansas.
Davis has the second-highest NCAA tournament free-throw percentage in Carolina history (with at least 25 attempts) at 93.5%.
RJ Davis game by game
Potential UNC roster
| Year | Player | Pos. | Height | Weight |
| Jr. | RJ Davis | PG | 6–0 | 175 |
| Fr. | Seth Trimble | PG | 6–3 | 185 |
| Jr. | Caleb Love | 2 | 6–4 | 195 |
| Soph. | D’Marco Dunn | 3 | 6–4 | 185 |
| Jr. | Kerwin Walton | 3 | 6–5 | 210 |
| Jr. | Puff Johnson | 3 | 6–8 | 205 |
| 5th year | Leaky Black | 3 | 6–8 | 200 |
| Soph. | Dontrez Styles | 4 | 6–6 | 210 |
| Junior | Justin McKoy | 4 | 6–8 | 220 |
| Fr. | Tyler Nickel | 4 | 6–8 | 210 |
| Fr. | Jalen Washington | 4 | 6–9 | 210 |
| Sr. | Armando Bacot | 5 | 6–10 | 240 |
| Fr. | Will Shaver | 5 | 6–10 | 265 |
| Walk-ons | ||||
| Soph. | Creighton Lebo | G | 6–1 | 170 |
| Sr. | Jackson Watkins | G | 6–1 | 175 |
| Jr. | Rob Landry | G | 6–4 | 195 |
| Sr. | Duwe Farris | F | 6–6 | 215 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
tarheeltribune.com 
When did The Daily Tar Heel end publishing?
LikeLike
The DTH still publishes a print edition, but only three times a week.
LikeLike