UNC Basketball: Experts Place RJ Davis Notch Above Duke Rookie

The 23-year-old UNC basketball guard and a 17-year-old rival roughly 10 miles away could be two of the top three talents in the country.

UNC basketball guard RJ Davis versus Duke / Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Duke basketball rookie forward Cooper Flagg, who doesn't turn 18 until December but is a widely projected one-and-done No. 1 overall draft pick, is the highest-rated prospect to enter the ACC this decade. Meanwhile, fifth-year UNC basketball guard RJ Davis just turned 23, is the defending ACC Player of the Year, and sits within striking distance of Tyler Hansbrough's UNC basketball career scoring record.

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Together, Davis and Flagg highlight more must-see Tobacco Road archrival action to come in February and March, courtesy of Hubert Davis' preseason No. 9-ranked Tar Heels and Jon Scheyer's No. 7 Blue Devils.

According to CBS Sports' Kyle Boone, Gary Parrish, and Matt Norlander in "The Top 100 and 1 Best Players" list that they published this week ahead of season openers getting underway across the nation on Nov. 4, RJ Davis and Cooper Flagg — in that order at No. 2 and No. 3 — stand below only Alabama graduate guard Mark Sears.

At No. 8, Wake Forest senior guard Hunter Sallis is the only other ACC player in the trio of experts' top 10.

UNC basketball freshman guard Elliot Cadeau, the only other Tar Heel on their list, checks in at No. 85.

The top 101 includes three more Blue Devils in junior guard Tyrese Proctor at No. 44, freshman guard Kon Knueppel at No. 48, and sophomore guard Caleb Foster at No. 83.

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Stay tuned to North Carolina Tar Heels On SI for more UNC basketball news.