ACC Basketball: Projecting each team’s key player production for 2021-22

North Carolina: Leaky Black and RJ Davis

Decrease in production: Leaky Black

The 6’8 forward does not have far to fall as he averaged just 5.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season. Black did however start 28 of 29 games while averaging over 27 minutes. Two numbers that will decrease as Black and his thirty-seven percent field goal shooting from last season will cause him to start on the bench as Caleb Love, RJ Davis, and Kerwin Walton will form the three-guard front Hubert Davis will need in order to put points on the board.

Black will be a solid player coming off the bench when it happens, especially with the addition of Brady Manek who averaged nearly eleven points with Oklahoma last season – who – along with Dawson Garcia will siphon playing time from Black.

Increase in production: RJ Davis

You do not have to look hard to find a number of people who believe that RJ Davis will be coming off the bench this season. Davis started eight of the Tar Heels’ first nine games, before ultimately being replaced by White, as the two of them started just one game together.

In his first nine games played at the collegiate level, Davis averaged over nine points as a starter, this only serves to fuel the belief that Davis could provide some scoring off the bench while Black starts and Walton stays at shooting guard.

The caveat is, as a new head coach, Hubert Davis needs to start games off strong, as coaching is much easier while ahead, and having Love, Walton, and Davis in the starting lineup gives Coach Davis the best opportunity to do that.