Tag: RJ Davis

UNC announces players who will represent programs at ACC Media Day

The UNC basketball program announces which men’s and women’s players will represent the programs at ACC Media Day next week.

ACC media day takes place on October 12 and both the UNC basketball men’s and women’s team will be represented.

For the women’s team, they will be up first among the UNC programs and will take the podium at 9 am ET.

For Media Day, UNC will be represented by head coach Courtney Banghart and players [autotag]Deja Kelly[/autotag] and [autotag]Kennedy Todd-Williams[/autotag].

Kelly is a sophomore who turned in a standout freshman season for the Tar Heels. She averaged 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 36.1 percent from three. She had 23 points in an eight-point loss to South Carolina in the Sweet 16.

Todd-Williams, like Kelly, is returning after a very good freshman season. She averaged 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game a year ago.

UNC looks to build off of a terrific season a year ago when advancing to the Sweet 16 before falling to No. 1 seed South Carolina.

Head coach Courtney Banghart is going into her fourth season at North Carolina and has a current record of 54-32 in three years. The NCAA Tournament was cancelled in her first season but she has led the Tar Heels to back-to-back tournament berths.

The men will take the podium at 3:30 pm ET as one of the last teams of the day. The Tar Heels will be one of two programs on either the men’s of women’s side to have three student-athletes attend.

UNC will have [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] and [autotag]RJ Davis [/autotag] as its attendees alongside had coach Hubert Davis.

Heading into the season, all three players are expected on one of the preseason All-American teams — with Bacot leading the charge as a projected First Team All-American.

Bacot averaged 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game last season and became the first player in NCAA Tournament history with six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament.

Love averaged 15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and was part of the NCAA All-Tournament team.

Lastly, for Davis, he averaged 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Head coach Hubert Davis enters his second season just one game shy of being the defending National Champions. The Tar Heels lost in the title game to Kansas by three.

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Three Tar Heels make Dick Vitale’s All-American teams

Three UNC basketball players recently were included in Dick Vitale’s Preseason All-American teams.

The UNC basketball program started preseason practice last week which ushered in the beginning of the 2022-23 season. The expectations surrounding the program is a total 180-degree flip compared to last season.

Because of the run the Tar Heels made at the end of the year and the return of all but one of their key rotations players, Hubert Davis and North Carolina enter this season as a preseason top-2 team.

Of the players on the roster, three of them were selected for All-American teams this week.

Dick Vitale, as he does every year, put out his five All-American teams and North Carolina had one player on the first three teams.

Headlined by center [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag], the 6-foot-10 big landed on the First-Team. Bacot returns to Chapel Hill after averaging 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game last season.

He became the first player in NCAA Tournament history with six double-doubles in one NCAA Tournament as he averaged 15.3 points and 16.5 rebounds en route to a National Championship runner-up appearance.

On the Second Team was guard [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag]. Love returns to North Carolina after a drastic step up in his production from freshman to sophomore year. He averaged 15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and was part of the NCAA All-Tournament team.

Finally, Love’s backcourt mate [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] was among the players on the All-American Third Team. Davis, one of the most underrated players in the country last season, finishing with averages of 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He rose his play in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 14.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in six tournament games. He became a star when he scored 30 points in UNC’s Round of 32 win against Baylor.

Here are all five teams from Vitale.

First Team

Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky

Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Armando Bacot, North Carolina

Marcus Sasser, Houston

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana

Second team

Hunter Dickinson, Michigan

Jaime Jaquez, UCLA

Caleb Love, North Carolina

Kendric Davis, Memphis

Mike Miles, TCU

Third team

Zach Edey, Purdue

Jalen Wilson, Kansas

Antoine Davis, Detroit

Posh Alexander, St. John’s

RJ Davis, North Carolina

Fourth Team

Colin Castleton, Florida

Tyrese Hunter, Texas

Terrence Shannon, Illinois

Tyger Campbell, UCLA

Max Abmas, Oral Roberts

Fifth team

Adama Sanogo, Connecticut

Isaiah Wong, Miami

Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky

Will Richardson, Oregon

Darius McGhee, Liberty

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2024 five-star guard planning visit to UNC

One 2024 five-star point guard is planning to visit the UNC basketball program this fall.

The UNC basketball program is still trying to finalize the last few pieces to its 2023 class, but in the meantime, are starting to get extremely active in the class of 2024.

One 2024 prospect that holds an offer from the Tar Heels is five-star point guard [autotag]Boogie Fland[/autotag]. Fland is ranked as the No. 10 overall player in the class in the Rivals rankings. He is also the No. 2 overall point guard — one spot behind UNC target Elliot Cadeau.

While Fland is early in his recruitment, that Tar Heels are sticking out enough to receive a visit, he tells Rivals.

“I’m planning to visit North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia Tech.”

Fland holds offers from UNC, Auburn, UConn, Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, Illinois, Maryland, UCLA, Villanova and more.

In June, Fland helped the US 17U basketball team win a gold medal during the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.

Fland is from Archbishop Stepinac (NY) High School, the same high school that current guard RJ Davis is from. Cole Anthony also spent time in the New York area for high school before transferring to Oak Hill.

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Potential lineups options for UNC basketball this season

A look at some of the potential lineup options for UNC basketball and Hubert Davis with some added depth this season.

The UNC basketball program heads into 2022 as the No. 1 overall team in the country by numerous national projections. It is fresh off of a National Runner-up appearance and returns four starters – [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag], [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag] and [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] – and its two key bench members from last year – [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Dontrez Styles[/autotag].

The Tar Heels also add in a solid recruiting class and bring in Northwestern transfer [autotag]Pete Nance[/autotag] — looking to replace the role of Brady Manek.

Overall, North Carolina should be a deeper team this season and by all accounts Hubert Davis wants them to be. Whether it’s in the backcourt, wing or front court, there seems to be additional pieces that the roster didn’t have a season ago.

Here is a look at some of the potential lineups for UNC this season.

Look: UNC freshman Seth Trimble meets with Vince Carter

UNC basketball freshman guard Seth Trimble met with Vince Carter over the weekend, former star wing for the Tar Heels.

Former UNC guard Vince Carter isn’t shy about his love for the North Carolina basketball program. He also does as much as he can to give back to the team whenever he can.

Over the weekend, he met with current UNC basketball freshman guard [autotag]Seth Trimble. [/autotag]

Trimble was the highest-ranked member of the 2022 recruiting class for Carolina, ranked No. 35 in the 247Sports Composite rankings. His role will be extremely valuable this season, being the primary backup guard for Caleb Love and RJ Davis – a role UNC didn’t have last year. 

Trimble, like Carter, is a highlight reel waiting to happen. Look no further than his highlight dunk at UNC camp last week. His athletic ability and skillset allows him to play both on and off of the ball, a valuable asset to the UNC backcourt.

While he has a long ways to go, if Trimble is anything like Carter, his career is going to be a very successful one.

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Hubert Davis comments on addition of Pete Nance

UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis made his first official comments on the transfer addition of Pete Nance on Monday.

The UNC basketball program waited over two months to make an offseason addition but over the weekend made a big splash in the transfer portal by adding Northwestern transfer [autotag]Pete Nance[/autotag].

Nance has one year of eligibility remaining and will be using it at North Carolina.

The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season. He also shot 45.2 percent from three (42-of-93).

UNC head coach Hubert Davis commented on the addition on Monday after the signing was made official.

“To complete our roster, we needed a big-time experienced  player who could contribute right away,” says head coach Hubert Davis. “We found that player in Pete Nance. His character and proven ability, experience and leadership are the perfect fit to our team, program and community. I’m so thankful I will have the opportunity to coach Pete this upcoming season.”

Nance will slide into the spot held last season by Brady Manek. Nance joins Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Leaky Black who all return from North Carolina’s starting lineup.

The Tar Heels are projected by numerous outlets to be the preseason No. 1 team heading into next season.

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UNC Basketball wins big among top-selling NIL merchandise

Multiple UNC basketball NIL merchandise is among the top-selling pieces nearly a year-to-date of NIL kickoff across the country.

The world of Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) continues to be a large part of the college sports world and will only get bigger and bigger as each year passes. Whether it’s individual deals with student-athletes or bigger deals with the Universities, it’s here to stay.

For UNC, it is not only here to stay, it has proven to be a big winner for multiple UNC basketball players.

BreakingT is a major player in the NIL game as it has partnered with 150+ student-athletes to generate NIL merchandise. On Monday, it released its nearly one-year to date data for top-selling merchandise and UNC basketball dominated the list.

Four of the seven top-selling shirts were UNC basketball related, including the top selling shirt. Here is the top-10 list.

  1. UNC Basketball: Love & RJ & Leaky & Manek & Bacot
  2. Oklahoma Softball: Jocelyn Alo Home Run Queen
  3. UNC Basketball: The Iron 5
  4. Cassidy Cerny: The Cheerleader Saves the Day
  5. Pitt Football: Kenny Pickett 8
  6. UNC Basketball: Armando Bacot and Caleb Love Frame It
  7. UNC Basketball: Caleb Love Nothing But Love
  8. Alabama: John Metchie Celebration
  9. Bo Nix: Focused and Having Fun
  10. D.J. Graham: The Pick

A big part of the top selling shirts for UNC was the popularity the starting lineup received during its run to the National Championship game. The nickname ‘Iron 5’ was not only a big seller in itself, at No. 3 on the list, but a variety of designs with the starting five was extremely popular.

[autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag], [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] and [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] all returned to UNC for next season and will most likely rack up even more NIL deals and endorsements.

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Seth Trimble to be a ‘really good fit’ in UNC backcourt next season

UNC basketball incoming freshman Seth Trimble will bring a lot of added value to an already talented backcourt for the Tar Heels next year.

The UNC basketball program has one of the most talented and now experienced starting guards across college basketball heading into the 2022-23 season. But, it’s a freshman coming off of the bench that could play a critical role for the Tar Heels.

Incoming guard [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag] is a 6-foot-3 guard who can play on and off of the ball, giving UNC head coach [autotag]Hubert Davis[/autotag] the versatility to play him with either of [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] or [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] and keep the theme of two ball handlers on the floor at all times.

Rotations, especially bench minutes in the backcourt, was limited when it came to giving guys like Love and Davis some rest last season. Now with Trimble, you have the luxury to provide those guys with some rest.

247Sports analyst Adam Finkelstein was at USA Basketball U18 tryouts last week and broke down Trimble’s potential fit for the Tar Heels.

“With Seth, I think that the thing it’s going to be really interesting, as he fights for playing time next year, I think he’s a really good fit, particularly next to RJ Davis, like when Caleb Love comes off the floor,” Finkelstein said. “And RJ is a little undersized. He’s a tough shot maker. He’s highly skilled. Now you’ve got this bulldog in Trimble coming in right next to him, who’s gonna be able to guard whoever the toughest cover is on that end of the floor, who’s going to give you that level of physicality to match that smooth skill set of a little bit of a slighter guy in RJ.

“I really think those two are gonna complement each other really, really well regardless of the style of play.”

That physical style of play and his bigger size and length gives Trimble the tools to be a true playmaker on the defensive end of the floor. UNC’s guards already have that ability and really showed that down the stretch of last seasons National Championship appearance run.

“He can push a ball-handler outside of the middle third of the floor,” Finkelstein added. “Right off the beginning, that helps you establish your defense because however you’re going to play, you establish your weak side, you’re able to flood one side of the floor, that’s the thing we don’t talk about in an AAU game. But in this setting, you get an appreciation for it.

“He’s got that perimeter size which is going to make him switchable on the perimeter, he’s going to be able to match up with bigger guards. So not just switching ball screens, but maybe they’re switching equals on the perimeter, like one through three or one through four or whatever, he’s going to be able to do that. Those are things, that again, not to say he didn’t do them in grassroots, but I didn’t get a true appreciation for the totality of his defensive potential.”

Trimble is part of a recruiting class that looks to solidify a rotation that was extremely short for North Carolina a season ago.

While Trimble won’t be expected to play a heavy dose of minutes, his ability to play spot minutes alongside either guard will be critical to allow Davis and Love to keep their legs fresh for late game situations.

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UNC slips in updated top 25 following NBA draft withdrawal deadline

The UNC basketball program is among the top teams heading into next season but were just surpassed in a recent 247Sports preseason poll.

The UNC basketball program has had one of the best offseasons in college basketball and that comes on the heels of a national runner-up appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

In [autotag]Hubert Davis[/autotag]’ second offseason, a lot of time was spent around his current roster and that work made an impact as the Tar Heels return every key piece to its roster from a season ago that was eligible to return. Outside of Brady Manek, who had exhausted his eligibility, UNC returns its other four starters in [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag], [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag] and [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag].

While they did lose a few pieces from the roster, none were in the rotation following January — when the Tar Heels went on their big second half of the season run.

After sitting atop almost every single ‘way-too-early’ poll for next season, they did slip in the updated 247Sports rankings following the NBA Draft withdrawal date.

A new team took over the top spot and that is Gonzaga. The Bulldogs returned all three starters they were waiting to hear from, including All-American forward Drew Timme.

So, as of now the Tar Heels sit as the No. 2 overall team.

“On Feb. 16, the Tar Heels took a brutal home loss to Pittsburgh. And from Feb. 17 on, North Carolina was among the nation’s best teams, according to statistics website BartTorvik, going 11-2 with the only two losses coming in the ACC Tournament to Virginia Tech and the national title game to Kansas,” 247Sports writer Kevin Flaherty said. “Four starters are back, including the bread-and-butter backcourt duo of Caleb Love and R.J. Davis, and likely preseason ACC Player of the Year Armando Bacot at center. Leaky Black’s defensive versatility was key in that run, and if Puff Johnson can play like he did in the national title game he should fill in at the four nicely. Three top-75 recruits help add depth to a team that wasn’t particularly deep last year, and a step forward from sophomore-to-be Dontrez Styles would help immensely, too.”

UNC finished last season 29-10 overall and 15-5 in the ACC. The Tar Heels went on to defeat Duke in the Final Four, which was the first ever NCAA Tournament matchup for the two programs.

Despite there being nearly six months before the 2022-23 college basketball season begins, UNC basketball will sit near the top of the rankings of nearly every single preseason poll.

North Carolina still has one available scholarship as well and it’s unclear if it will be used through the transfer portal at this point.

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UNC basketball season in review: RJ Davis

We break down the 2021-22 season for UNC basketball guard RJ Davis as the Tar Heels made a Final Four run.

Going into the basketball offseason, Tar Heels Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Tar Heels’ roster.

Over the offseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and how they performed for head coach Hubert Davis and the team. Lacing up next is RJ Davis.

[autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] committed to North Carolina back in October of 2019, moving 554 miles away from his New York roots. The four-star guard has grown steadily during his time in Carolina blue with last season being his break-out year. And now going into his third season, he’s projected to be one of the top point guards returning in all of college basketball.

RJ Davis Player Profile

Hometown: White Plains, New York

Ht: 6-foot-0

Wt: 160

247Sports Composite Ranking

Four-star // No. 2 in NY

Class in 2021-22: Sophomore

Career Stats

Year G FG% TRB AST STL PTS
20-21 29 .350 2.3 1.9 0.7 8.4
21-22 39 .425 4.3 3.6 1.0 13.5

Year in Review

Davis’ numbers jumped along with his playing time going from 22.3 minutes per game his first season with UNC to 33.9 this past season. The 2020 Gatorade high school Player of the Year in New York also started 39 games this season prior to just 10 the season before.

Davis became an important piece to Hubert Davis’ starting five puzzle, often bouncing back and forth as a primary ball-handler with Caleb Love. Davis had five games this season where he eclipsed over 20 points, including a 30 point, five rebound, and six assist performance against Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Davis is one of the four returning from the Iron 5 with sights on finishing the job they started last season.

He is expected to return to his role as the point guard in this offense and we wouldn’t be shocked to see his numbers take another leap in production. This could be Davis’ final season in Carolina blue, and in order for the nets to be cut down his number will be called upon often to get that done.

RJ Davis Photo Gallery