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First, it was Armando Bacot. Leaky Black was second. On Saturday, Tar Heels guard R.J. Davis announced that he was returning to North Carolina for his junior season in a Meek Mill-themed video.
“I thought I was leaving. Nah, let’s run it back,” Davis said in the video.
Davis was the fourth-leading scorer for the Tar Heels this season, averaging 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 42.5% from the floor.
Davis was part of a lineup featuring Bacot, Black, Brady Manek and Caleb Love that played its way to the Final Four as a No. 8 seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament. Davis scored a career-high 30 points in North Carolina’s second-round 93–86 victory against the No. 1-seeded and 2021 NCAA champion Baylor Bears. He also became the first player in UNC history with double-digit assists in a tournament game, dishing 12 against Marquette, and posted the second-highest NCAA tournament free-throw percentage in Tar Heels’ history with at least 25 attempts at 93.5% .
In the Tar Heels’ 72–69 national championship loss to the Jayhawks, Davis grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds.
Davis's decision to return comes one day before the deadline that players can submit their names into the NBA draft process. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.
