By R.L. Bynum
RJ Davis reportedly isn’t done yet.
According Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, his sources say that the senior guard will return to Carolina for a fifth season, becoming the first All-American first-team selection to return for another season since Tyler Hansbrough led the Tar Heels to the 2009 NCAA title.
If he matches his 784 points from last season, he would finish tied with Hansborough on the all-time scoring list with 2,872 points. Last season’s total was the fourth-highest by a Tar Heel and the most since Hansbrough’s 882 in the 2007–08 season.
He is the first UNC consensus All-America first-team selection since Justin Jackson in 2016–17 and one of 11 in program history. He joined Phil Ford, Michael Jordan, Joseph Forte, and Ty Lawson as the only UNC guards to win ACC Player of the Year.
Davis is the first UNC player and second ACC player after Duke’s RJ Barrett in 2019 to win the Jerry West Award as the top shooting guard in the country.
Davis is Carolina’s all-time leader in free-throw percentage (85.8%), is second in 3-pointers (274) and fifth in scoring. Phil Ford is the only Tar Heel guard with more points.
Davis already has earned the right to have his No. 4 jersey in the Smith Center rafters, but has plenty more he’d like to accomplish next season after the Tar Heels finished 29–8 and won the ACC regular-season title.
He’ll return to a talented backcourt that will include sophomore Elliot Cadeau and junior Seth Trimble (who just announced Tuesday that he would exit the transfer portal and return) as well as freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell. Davis’ career free-throw percentage of 85.7% is the highest in program history.
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Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC two under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–6 | 205 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
Thursday through May 28 — Kevin Thomas at USA Basketball U18 national team tryouts in Colorado Springs
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
