Tag: R.J. Davis

UNC takes top spot in Andy Katz power 36 preseason rankings

The UNC basketball program is ranked No. 1 in Andy Katz updated power 36 rankings for the 2022-23 season.

The road back to the Final Four for the UNC basketball program started on Monday as Hubert Davis’ team opened up practice in Chapel Hill. Fresh off an appearance in last season’s NCAA title game, the Tar Heels are the trendy pick to win it all this season.

And a big reason why is due to the fact that the team will return four of the five starters from a year ago plus bring in transfer Pete Nance. The bench will be deep for UNC as well, giving them some much-needed depth.

As we get set for the upcoming season, national college basketball writer Andy Katz dropped his power 36 rankings here in the preseason. UNC took the top spot in the rankings, checking in at No. 1. Check out the top five here:

1. North Carolina (1): National runner-up has the personnel to return to the title game.

2. Gonzaga (2): Drew Timme will be a leading contender for national player of the year.

3. Kentucky (3): Reigning Naismith player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe returns.

4. UCLA (4): Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Tyger Campbell will be two of the best leaders in the country.

5. Kansas (5): Jalen Wilson leads another experienced Jayhawk crew.

It won’t be an easy road back to the Final Four for the Tar Heels and they will be tested several times this season, especially with a tough non-conference schedule.

But UNC does have the talent to get it done and will play with that added pressure on their back all season long.

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R.J. Davis, Caleb Love named to preseason All-American teams

Both R.J. Davis and Caleb Love were named to Jon Rothstein’s preseason All-American list ahead of the 2022-23 season.

It’s not a secret that the UNC basketball program has a ton of talent returning for the 2022-23 season. With four of their five starters from a year ago back, the Tar Heels are among the favorites to cut down the next come April.

But before we get that far ahead of ourselves, we need to get through the offseason and to the start of the regular season.

Last week, Armando Bacot was named to Jon Rothstein’s preseason All-American first team. A well-deserved honor for a player who should be in the national player of the year category. But he wasn’t the only one.

Both Caleb Love and R.J. Davis were also named All-American’s by Rothstein and College Hoops Today.

Love was named to the second team as he enters his junior season and is coming off a fantastic sophomore campaign:

[autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag], North Carolina: Love’s overall shotmaking and level of play reached a different level late last season — especially in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-4 guard scored 30 points in the Sweet 16 against UCLA and tallied 28 in the Final Four against Duke. Like Bacot, Love returned to school with the intention of bringing another national title to Chapel Hill in 2023.

Joining him is his backcourt teammate, Davis who landed on the third team:

[autotag]R.J. Davis[/autotag], North Carolina: Bacot and Love get the bulk of the attention when it comes to the Tar Heels, but the 6-foot Davis is also one of the best players in the sport. A New York native, Davis averaged 14.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and five assists in six NCAA Tournament games last spring and scored 30 in the Round of 32 against Baylor.

If Love and Davis can play at the level they did a year ago and even elevate it, the Tar Heels could be better than advertised. The duo really turned it on last year at the right time and are one of the best returning backcourts in all of college basketball.

Let’s hope they can keep that play going.

R.J. Davis, Armando Bacot team up with Fortnite

Both R. J. Davis and Armando Bacot get a NIL deal with Fortnite as they return for another year with the UNC basketball program.

With the return of four of UNC’s starting five from a year ago, the team has high expectations for the upcoming season and rightfully so. But in addition to that, the players could reap the benefits of NIL again.

We’ve already talked about Caleb Love signing with a new agency this week and now two of his teammates have teamed up to promote a very popular video game.

On Tuesday, [autotag]R.J. Davis[/autotag] tweeted out a video of himself and teammate [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] promoting Fortnite’s “zero build” mode as an epic partner.

Take a look at the duo promoting that game that is available among multiple platforms:

I don’t know the extent of the partnership but it is cool to see them promote the game which has become wildly popular. Fortnite’s creators, Epic Games, is based in Cary, North Carolina. The game has been one of the most popular games in terms of revenue over the past five years.

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UNC guard R.J. Davis announces he’s returning for another year

UNC Basketball point guard R.J. Davis is returning for another season in Chapel Hill, he announced on Saturday.

Three players from UNC Basketball’s Iron Five are set to return for one more season in Chapel Hill. After Armando Bacot and Leaky Black made their announcements a few weeks back, guard [autotag]R.J. Davis[/autotag] becomes the latest player to “run it back” for the Tar Heels.

The New York native is returning for a third season, he announced on Saturday with a special social media post. The point guard is a key player on UNC’s roster and was huge down the stretch helping the Tar Heels get to the national title game last season. And if they want to return next season, having Davis back is a good step.

The guard has improved in each of his two seasons with the Tar Heels so far and finished last year averaging 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 42.5 percent from the field.

Davis will be the team’s starting point guard once again next year.

Now, the only decision that awaits UNC is shooting guard Caleb Love.

Dick Vitale thinks highly of UNC going into 2022-23 season

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale has the UNC Basketball program as his number one team for the 2023 season in his early elite eight.

We are still months away from the start of the 2022-23 college basketball season but already the UNC basketball program is receiving praise by national analysts. The latest is ESPN’s Dick Vitale who put out his top teams for his “Elite Eight” going into next season.

And right there at the top stand the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Vitale listed Hubert Davis’ team No. 1 in the rankings beating out No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 Gonzaga. Here is what Vitale had to say about the Tar Heels’ squad for next season with some decisions from players still pending:

Hubert Davis was 20 minutes away from the national title as his Tar Heels had a 15-point halftime lead on Kansas. Carolina will learn from that. Davis was thrilled when [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] and [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag] announced their plans to return to Chapel Hill. The success of the upcoming season will depend on the status of [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] and [autotag]R.J. Davis[/autotag], who are determining their futures. The Tar Heels also welcome 6-9 recruit [autotag]Jalen Washington[/autotag] and point guard [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag].

As it stands right now, UNC is set to return starters Armando Bacot and Leaky Black while guard R.J. Davis is also likely coming back. The biggest decision left is Caleb Love who should announce his decision any day now.

The Tar Heels will have to replace Brady Manek but do return key players like Puff Johnson who got good minutes down the stretch last season. Plus, they welcome in a very talented recruiting class headlined by Seth Trimble.

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Baylor coach Scott Drew is all of us covering his eyes on UNC’s potential game-winner

We sympathize with you, Scott.

On Saturday afternoon, it looked like defending national champion Baylor (-5.5 favorites) would leave the Men’s NCAA tournament with a whimper.

The No. 1 seed in the East Region, the Bears had more than their fair share of struggles with No. 8 North Carolina. At one point, very late in the second half, the Tar Heels held a stratospheric 25-point lead. Hubert Davis and Co. were cruising. Then Brady Manek was ejected on what seemed like a questionable flagrant foul, and this game flipped on its head.

Showing the heart of a champion, Baylor stormed back to tie the game at 80 on the strength of a James Akinjo and-1at the last minute.

But North Carolina wasn’t done. The Bears still had to get one last stop to send this instant classic into overtime. It came down to one R.J. Davis 28-foot three-point shot.

And try as he might to put on a brave face for his players, Scott Drew couldn’t bear to look on as Davis rose to potentially end Baylor’s title defense.

“Please don’t go in, please don’t go in. YES!!!” said Scott Drew, probably. Great coaches wear their emotions on their sleeves during high-stakes tournament games. They’re just like us!

Of course, Baylor lost in overtime anyway, 93-86. But for a moment at the end of regulation, the Bears and Drew had hope. You saw that hope on the coach’s face. Well, you almost saw it behind his fingers.

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