North Carolina Basketball: It's official, RJ Davis will return for a fifth year, but what does this mean?
ACC Player of the Year, Jerry West Award winner, and All-American RJ Davis has announced that he will be returning to Chapel Hill for next season. Davis will use his final year of eligibility granted due to our world's most recent pandemic, COVID-19.
The White Plains, New York, native announced coming back and playing for the Tar Heels this past Wednesday, May 1st. However, he alerted the entire Carolina nation at 3:00 a.m. The guard posted an Instagram video on top of a vlog on his YouTube channel.
His decision to play at the Dean Dome next season has greatly changed UNC's trajectory. Davis' scoring ability and leadership will serve Coach Davis' team wonders as there will be new faces to the program. Ian Jackson, Drake Powell, and James Brown will learn from one of the best players to ever play at North Carolina.
It is finally official after it was made out not too long ago that Davis would make his way back for the 2024–2025 season, as provided by Bleacher Report. This puts away all the wonders and worries amongst fans who thought transferring or entering the NBA Draft would be the result.
The 6-foot guard averaged 21.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and shot 42.8 percent from the field. It's hard to forget his 39.8 percent from beyond the arc as well. Davis made it drop from all over the court, as his diverse skillset serves him well to do just that. Whether it's attacking the rim, creating his shot off the dribble, or even off the catch, it's hard to stop him.
The impact of his performance was crucial to UNC's success this past season; if it weren't for his remarkable play, North Carolina may not have been crowned the ACC regular-season champions. There are levels to this decision, and it's more than obvious that Davis choosing to stay has placed UNC in the talks of being at the forefront of college basketball soon.
Davis will be able to lead his younger backcourt running mate Elliot Cadeau, and freshmen Ian Jackson, Drake Powell, and James Brown. He'll share his experiences and what has led to success in the landscape of college basketball.
All things considered, the future fifth-year senior will be earning tons of money from NIL, receiving deals with Hanes, Crocs, Fortnite, and so much more.
His jersey will be hanging up in the rafters by the time everything is said and done after achieving All-American status. It will be interesting to watch how much better Davis can get, despite scoring a career-high 42 points against Miami in the Dean Dome, breaking Tyler Hansbrough's prior record of 40 for the most points scored at home.
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Can he top that? We'll just have to find out.
Nonetheless, Davis is the last piece of former head coach Roy Williams, who retired following Davis' freshman year. He stepped on campus with Caleb Love, Day'Ron Sharpe, Walker Kessler, Puff Johnson, and Kerwin Walton, who have now all found their way within the basketball spectrum.