UNC Basketball: RJ Davis Notes More Wrinkles to His Repertoire

UNC basketball's defending ACC Player of the Year plans to offer much more than just a top backcourt scoring threat.

UNC basketball guard RJ Davis / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Last season, en route to earning consensus First Team All-American accolades and the ACC Player of the Year hardware, UNC basketball treasure RJ Davis averaged a career-high 21.2 points while knocking down an impressive 39.8 percent of his 7.7 attempts from downtown per game.

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There's still room for growth as a fifth-year guard in Chapel Hill, though, the 22-year-old from White Plains, N.Y., recently detailed in a chat with CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

"I think a lot of people know me for my scoring," Davis explained while gearing up for the fourth season of the Hubert Davis era in Chapel Hill, "but I think a thing that's underrated is my playmaking. I don't think that gets talked about a lot. That's going to be a true testament to my work. I'm really just focusing on my all-around game. My 3-point game, my defense improved a lot last year, and I'm looking to continue that this year.

"I'm looking to be an all-around player — not just scoring — but whatever it takes to win."

As for what Davis sees in his teammates, including freshmen and transfers galore figuring to carve out spots in the regular rotation, it sounds like the vision is to offset what the 2024-25 UNC basketball team lacks in experience with a boost in athleticism and speed.

"We're a lot younger this year," RJ Davis told Rothstein. "Last year, we had a lot of old guys. This year, we're a lot younger, but we're a lot more athletic...We're going to be playing a lot faster and getting up and down a lot. We have a lot of talent, but we just have to piece it together."

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