As North Carolina looks to make a deep run this March and April, a pair of Tar Heels’ are being recognized nationally for their performances this season.
On Friday, the Naismith Awards announced the semifinalists for the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards.
North Carolina guard RJ Davis was one of 10 semifinalists for the Player of the Year award as he’s put together a spectacular campaign here in 2023-24 season. Davis is coming off winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year award as well.
Davis joins the following players as semifinalists: Caleb Love (Arizona), Dalton Knect (Tennessee), Zach Edey (Purdue), Kyle Filipowski (Duke), Daron Holmes II (Dayton), Tyler Kolek (Marquette), Jaedon Ledee (San Diego State), Tristen Newton (UConn), and Jamal Shead (Houston).
The guard has averaged 21 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field.
Davis’ head coach was also recognized on Friday. Hubert Davis was one of 10 coaches named to the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Semifinalists. Davis joins Amir Abdur-Rahim (South Florida), Dan Hurley (UConn), T.J. Otzelberger (Iowa State), Matt Painter (Purdue), Lamot Paris (South Carolina), Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Josh Schertz (Indiana State), Kyle Smith (Washington State), and Danny Sprinkle (Utah).
Naismith Trophy Semifinalists 🙌#CarolinaFamily | @ariidavis_ pic.twitter.com/bbfp6wqYok
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 15, 2024
Both are well-deserved to be on the list as RJ has had a fantastic season and Hubert has coached the Tar Heels to the ACC regular season title after missing out on the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
But they have their eyes on a bigger prize and are hoping that to cut down the nets in April.
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