RJ Davis makes his return official, says ‘let’s run it back’

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

YearPlayerPos.HeightWeight
Jr.RJ DavisPG6–0175
Fr.Seth TrimblePG6–3185
Jr.Caleb Love26–4195
Soph.D’Marco Dunn36–4185
Jr.Kerwin Walton36–5210
Jr.Puff Johnson36–8205
5th yearLeaky Black36–8200
Soph.Dontrez Styles46–6210
JuniorJustin McKoy46–8220
Fr.Tyler Nickel46–8210
Fr.Jalen Washington46–9210
Sr.Armando Bacot56–10240
Fr.Will Shaver56–10265
Walk-ons
Soph.Creighton LeboG6–1170
Sr.Jackson WatkinsG6–1175
Jr.Rob LandryG6–4195
Sr.Duwe FarrisF6–6215

Photo via @UNC_Basketball

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