Chapel Hill, North Carolina — RJ Davis shut off his phone before his historic Monday night match against Miami, like he does before every game. This allowed him to see a ton of texts by the time he exited the locker room.
After setting a Smith Center record with 42 points on Monday night, Davis received a lot of text messages and messages on social media. He tried his best to reply to each and every one of them. To demonstrate his progress, a buddy showed him an old photo of himself in elementary school, when he looked amazing in a low-cut haircut and corrective goggles as a third grader.
Despite the abundance of congrats and encouraging remarks from his teammates, Davis didn’t seem to fully comprehend his accomplishment on game night. He claimed that it took him two days to fully comprehend his accomplishments. But the spectacle on Monday was only the most recent chapter in his legacy at UNC.
With his 42 points on Monday, Davis and Brad Daugherty shared tenth place on UNC’s all-time scoring chart. Tyler Hansbrough, Phil Ford, Armando Bacot, Sam Perkins, Lennie Rosenbluth, Al Wood, Charlie Scott, Larry Miller, and Antwan Jamison are the only names that come before him.
That seems crazy to me, Davis remarked. “I’m stunned by that.”
When Davis arrived to North Carolina during the COVID-19-plagued 2020–21 season, he had no idea that he would end up among the program’s top 10 scorers—even though Roy Williams had recruited him in high school. However, he began to think more carefully about how he wanted to be remembered at the start of his fourth season.
“I did consider what kind of legacy I wanted to leave behind and how I wanted my senior year to go as I approached my senior year,” Davis stated. “I believe that I effectively managed my mental state, focusing on being excessively confident and focused during every practice and game to get ready for these occasions and games and have an amazing senior year.”
With 21.7 points per game, Davis is tied for sixth place in the country. He has nine games with 25 points or more, and three with 30 points or more. Additionally, Davis is making a career-high 41.1% of his 3-pointers. Since Tyler Hansbrough in the 2008–09 campaign, he is the only Tar Heel to average more than 20 points per game in a season.
Throughout his career, the senior’s scoring average has increased each season.
Hubert Davis noted that RJ Davis’s ability to evolve both as a player and as a member of the squad each year doesn’t come as a surprise.
Hubert Davis remarked, “This is how college basketball used to be.” Year after year, you improved. You become more powerful every year. You were more at ease every year.
Every year, you got more confident as a leader.
“I understood what kind of player and guy (RJ) is, so it’s not shocking.I believe that this year is the first when he is genuinely acknowledged for the kind of player he has grown into.
Davis, who leads the team in free throw percentage all-time (86.3%), gets an opportunity to leave his mark on UNC history.
He is the overwhelming favorite to win ACC Player of the Year and is sure to be selected to the first or second team of the All-American squad. With these two achievements, he would become the first Tar Heel since Joel Berry to have his jersey memorialized at the Smith Center.
Respect and national attention have been drawn to Davis’ season nationwide. Given his propensity to get into a scoring groove fast, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said on Tuesday that Davis may be set up for an NCAA Tournament run akin to that of Kemba Walker.
“I see a guy who can just go on a heater and carry a team, and I see a kid like that,” Cronin remarked.
Davis may choose to return to North Carolina as a member of the team for a fifth season.
The next two games Davis will play in Chapel Hill are at home against UNC, and they may be his last two games there. Despite the fact that the second of the next two games will be Senior Night, he stated he is not considering these to be his final two games played in the Smith Center while wearing a Tar Heel uniform.
Nevertheless, as he travels further, Davis grows to appreciate the way his narrative has been told thus far.
Davis remarked, “I love my journey—how it started and how it’s gone from freshman year until now.” Not only have I improved as a player, but also as a person here. I’ve become older, wiser, and more perceptive. I’ve been able to push myself beyond of my comfort zone here.
