RJ Davis, ‘Tar Heel for life,’ returning for his senior season

By R.L. Bynum

RJ Davis, as expected, announced on social media on Friday morning that he is returning for his senior season at North Carolina.

“Tar Heel for life,” he wrote on Twitter in announcing his decision.

Davis averaged 16.1 points and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 36.2% from 3-point range last season. He scored at least 20 points seven times, including 27 in an 88–79 Jan. 4 home win over Wake Forest and 26 in an 80–69 Jan. 21 home victory over N.C. State. He scored at least four 3-pointers six times, topped by five in that win over the Deacs and dished out five assists in nine games.

“It’s not a great feeling,” Davis said after scoring 24 points in UNC’s season-ending 68–40 loss to Virginia in the ACC tournament. “Not the expectations that we had coming into the year. It was definitely frustrating and disappointing, but one thing I can say about this group is we fight to the end. We’re a resilient group. We may get kicked down, but we always get back up, and that’s something that has been a major theme for this whole team.”

Davis put up double-doubles with 10 rebounds three times, all in home victories: in a 22-point game on Dec. 10 against Georgia Tech (75–59), in a 16-point game on Feb. 25 against Virginia (71–63) and in a 14-point game on Nov. 15 against Gardner-Webb (72–66).

During the Tar Heels’ run to the 2022 national championship game, he had a career-high 12 assists in the win over Marquette, a career-high 30 points in the overtime victory over Baylor, a career-high four steals in the win over Saint Peter’s and a career-high 12 rebounds in the loss to Kansas.

Earlier this week, Armando Bacot also announced that he would return for a fifth season at Carolina. There is still no word from Caleb Love about his plans for next season.

RJ Davis career-highs

Points: 30 vs. Baylor (March 19, 2022)
Field goals: 9 vs. Brown (Nov. 12, 2021), at Duke
(March 5, 2022), vs. Wake Forest (Jan. 4, 2023), vs. Miami
(Feb. 13, 2023)
Three-pointers: 6 vs. Brown (Nov. 12, 2021)
Free throws: 14 vs. N.C. State (Jan. 21, 2023)
Offensive rebounds: 6 vs. Kansas (April 4, 2022)
Rebounds: 12 vs. Kansas (April 4, 2022)
Assists: 12 vs. Marquette (March 17, 2022)
Blocks: 2 vs. Florida State (Feb. 12, 2022)
Steals: 4 vs. Pittsburgh (Feb. 16, 2022), Saint Peter’s
(March 27, 2022)


UNC roster

No.ClassPlayerPos.HgtWgt
Returnees
4Sr.RJ DavisPG6–0180
7Soph.Seth TrimblePG6–3195
13Soph.Jalen Washington46–10230
55th yearArmando Bacot56–11240
Transfer newcomers
35th yearCormac Ryan (Notre Dame)36–5195
85th yearPaxson Wojcik (Brown)36–5195
55JuniorHarrison Ingram (Stanford)36–7235
32JuniorJames Okonkwo (West Virginia)46–8240
24SeniorJae’Lyn Withers (Louisville)46–9215
ESPN rankFreshmen
210 (Class
of 2024)
Elliot Cadeau (5 star)PG6–1180
164 (Class
of 2023
Zayden High (4 star)46–9225
Walk-ons
14Creighton LeboPG6–1180
22Rob Landry26–4190
34Dewe Farris46–7210
Eligibility over
Leaky Black36–9205
Pete Nance46–11230
Players who transferred out
Caleb Love (Arizona)26–4200
D’Marco Dunn (Penn State)36–5190
Dontrez Styles (Georgetown)46–6210
Tyler Nickel (Va. Tech)36–7220
Justin McKoy (Hawaii)46–8220
Puff Johnson (Penn State)36–8200
Will Shaver (UAB)56–10260
ESPN rank2024–25 freshman class
12Drake Powell (5 star)26–5185
17Ian Jackson (5 star)26–4180
68James Brown (4 star)56–8225

1 Comment

  1. Improvise, adapt, and overcome. This is UNC, expect more of yourselves. Put in the work follow the process, everything else will follow. Tar heel for life.

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