There is no denying that a large part of North Carolina’s success as a team over the past three seasons was due to the stellar performance of guard, RJ Davis. Now a fifth-year senior, he has been named to the Naismith Player of the Year watchlist, an award he has never won.
His awards list stacks up. He has been a consensus All-American, the ACC Player of the Year, All-ACC first teams, All-Tournament first teams, and All-American first teams. However, the coveted Player of the Year award has never fallen in the hands of one of the country’s greatest scorers.
Last year, Davis averaged 21.2 points on the way to most of the aforementioned awards. This year, he is currently averaging 20.2 points per game. He has also upped his rebounds from 3.6 last season to 4.2 this season and assists from 3.5 last season to 4.6 this season.
The increased play of Elliot Cadeau has also led to his budding into a different role this season. However, despite that shift in responsibility, he is still scoring at will on the best defenders in the country.
Depending on how far Davis and the Tar Heels can go this season, he has a real chance at finishing his career at North Carolina with this Player of the Year award. Much more, he can be an NCAA Champion, another accolade that has illuded him.
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