By R.L. Bynum
RJ Davis made it official.
North Carolina will have a fifth-year player for the third consecutive season after Davis announced with an Instagram post early Wednesday morning, “I’m back,” along with a reel of his highlights. He’ll be the only returning first-team All-American and likely the preseason national player of the year.
“It’s good to see you again, bro,” commented Seth Trimble, who pulled his name from the transfer portal last week and will also be back for UNC.
Davis is poised to make history as one of the 11 Tar Heels to be consensus All-Americans. Following in the footsteps of Leaky Black two seasons ago and Armando Bacot last season, Davis has a golden opportunity to rewrite the program’s record books in his fifth season.
He could become the first player since Duke’s J.J. Reddick in 2005 and 2006 to be ACC Player of the Year in multiple seasons. Davis could also become the second UNC player to win the award in multiple seasons after Larry Miller won it in 1967 and 1968.
Davis is fifth on the all-time program scoring list at 2,088 points and would tie Tyler Hansbrough for most career points if he replicates last season’s 784 points. Bacot finished second with 2,348 points.
Davis is only two points away from Phil Ford’s total as the top-scoring guard in program history and 25 3-pointers from tying Marcus Paige’s program-record 299 career 3-pointers.
Davis enters next season as the all-time leading free-throw percentage shooter at 85.8%, well ahead of Shammond Williams’ 84.8%.
Carolina will enter the season with a formidable backcourt, including Davis, sophomore Elliot Cadeau, junior Trimble, and freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell.
Key events, dates
Saturday, April 27, was the deadline for players to submit their names to the NBA draft
May 1 was the deadline for players to enter the transfer portal
Last weekend on Saturday and Sunday — NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago
Began Sunday, runs through next Sunday — NBA Combine in Chicago
May 17–19 — Evaluation for high school players at NCAA-certified events (EYBL in Indianapolis is one of those)
May 29 at 11:59 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 16 at 5 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft
UNC schedule so far
Nov. 4 — vs. Elon
Nov. 8 — at Kansas (final AP rank No. 20; final NET ranking No. 19)
Nov. 22 — at Hawaii (final NET ranking No. 172)
Nov. 25–27 — Maui Invitational — Auburn (final AP rank No. 18; final NET ranking No. 5), Colorado (unranked; No. 25), Connecticut (No. 1; No. 2), Dayton (No. 24; No. 23), Iowa State (No. 8; No. 6), Memphis (unranked; No. 75), Michigan State (unranked; No. 24)
Dec. 14 — vs. La Salle (final NET ranking No. 195)
Likely in late November — Opponent TBA in ACC/SEC Challenge
December — vs. UCLA (final NET ranking No. 107) in CBS Sports Classic (date, location TBA)
December — vs. Florida (final NET ranking No. 29) in Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center (date TBA)
— Games home and away against Duke, N.C. State and Pittsburgh
— Home games vs. Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
— Road games vs. Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Note: 2024 NCAA tournament teams are in bold.
2024-25 UNC roster so far
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Freshman | James Brown (4 star) | 5 | 6–8 | 225 |
| — | Freshman | Ian Jackson (5 star) | 2 | 6–4 | 180 |
| — | Freshman | Drake Powell (5 star) | 2 | 6–5 | 185 |
| 3 | Soph. | Elliot Cadeau | PG | 6–1 | 180 |
| 1 | Soph. | Zayden High | 4 | 6–9 | 225 |
| — | Junior | Cade Tyson | 3 | 6–7 | 203 |
| 13 | Junior | Jalen Washington | 5 | 6–10 | 230 |
| 0 | Junior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 195 |
| 5 | Graduate | RJ Davis | PG | 6–0 | 180 |
| 24 | Graduate | Jae’Lyn Withers | 4 | 6–9 | 215 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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