Published on February 27th, 2024 by Inside Carolina
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — RJ Davis was the last to leave North Carolina’s shoot-around on Monday, hours before the team faced Miami at home.
Davis, UNC’s leading scorer, shot just 1-14 against Virginia in Charlottesville on Saturday and scored 12 points — his second-lowest scoring output of the season. But a mere two days later, the senior delivered a record-setting performance in the Dean. E Smith Center.
Davis poured in 42 points on 14-22 shooting in North Carolina’s 75-71 win. The 42 points he scored are the most anyone has scored in the Smith Center in its 38 years of existence, and he became the 10th UNC player to score 40 or more points in a game.
No other Tar Heel on Monday scored more than eight.
“We needed every bit of his 42 tonight,” Hubert Davis said. “He was fantastic.”
When North Carolina required it the most, RJ Davis elevated his game to an All-American level. He had his way on the perimeter, making a career-high seven 3-pointers on 11 attempts. He got to his spots inside as well with driving layups and floaters.
“Every time I shot the ball, I felt like it was going in,” Davis said.
Davis canned a 3-pointer from a few steps behind the line to get to 21 points before the half, but UNC led by just five. He felt the team’s energy needed to elevate to put the Hurricanes away, and he let his teammates know about it.
“I got into the guys in the first half when we went to the locker room like, ‘We have no energy,’” Davis said. “There’s no life.’ It seemed like we were just dead a little bit, and we picked it up in the second half.”
Davis certainly did his part to push for a victory. After making the last shot of the first half, he scored the first two points in the second half. But after the under-eight timeout, he truly began to take off with his scoring.
The White Plains guard connected on four consecutive 3-point attempts within a three-minute span. On the first, he had Kyshawn George backpedaling with a stepback dribble, freeing him up to drain a 3-pointer from the edge of the North Carolina logo. For the second and third shots in that sequence, he dribbled to his spot on the right and left wings for his 33rd and 36th points.
He set a new career-high when he crossed over Matthew Cleveland near the Roy Williams Court logo, lacing the shot and using his hands for the 3-point goggles celebration as he went back down the court.
Soon after that, fans in the Smith Center started to chant his name.
“They tried to put everybody on him, but there’s no answer,” Harrison Ingram said. “When someone’s in a zone like that, there’s no answer.”
To Davis on Monday, shooting the basketball was like tossing a rock into the ocean — no matter where he shot it from.
Davis made it an emphasis to extend his range in the offseason, working with Pat Sullivan to become consistent at knocking down deep shots. He often envisions handling the ball around the top of the key, with the clock winding down as he hoists up a shot. Davis takes his mornings to develop his distance, as well as the dribble moves to get to his spots from out there.
“He can shoot from anywhere,” Ingram said. “He has deep range, he has NBA range. There’s no shot that RJ takes that I don’t think is a good shot.”
Davis secured his third 30-point game of the season on Monday, and if it was up to him, he would’ve gotten more.
“Once I got 41, I wanted 50,” Davis said. “I was hungry for 50.”
Davis furthered his ACC Player of the Year and First Team All-American candidacy on Monday, and he’s offered his share of award-worthy moments throughout the season.
He scored 30 points in the Bahamas against Arkansas during the Battle 4 Atlantis in a UNC win. He went on a second-half tear against Wake Forest at home to set his previous career-high. In Coral Gables against Miami, he went for 25 while also slowing down Nijel Pack in the second half.
Through 28 games, Davis is averaging 21.7 points per game and has only been held under double figures once.
Davis is now tied with Brad Daugherty at 10th all-time on the UNC scoring list, and he’s North Carolina’s all-time free throw percentage leader. With his performance this season, he’s positioned well to add to his collegiate resume with an ACC Player of the Year award and, perhaps, a spot on an All-American team.
His teammates saw the potential for a breakout year from Davis before the season started. And to Ingram, Davis “wrapped up” his case for conference player of the year with Monday’s performance.
“I knew what he was capable of,” Ingram said. “I mean, obviously, I didn’t know he was gonna drop 42, but I knew what he was capable of.”
Jeremiah Holloway 