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The other Tar Heels will have to take the pressure off R.J. Davis.
Remember how Davis began last season as one of only two starters returning from the team that did not make the NCAA tournament? There were questions galore about the new line-up that Davis eventually led back to the Big Dance and into the Sweet Sixteen.
It is likely that opposing teams, and some of our own fans, were surprised when R.J. began ringing up record scoring numbers and was in contention for ACC Player of the Year by mid-season. This November, he will no longer be a secret weapon after being named preseason ACC Player of the Year and first team All-American by the Associated Press.
Those who have watched Davis practice and play so far say he has become an even better outside shooter than the 40 percent he made from the 3-point line last season. But he will also have a target on his back from the first jump. And without three starters who are gone, and still an unproven front court, Davis can’t do it all.
Davis, who received 51 of 55 votes, is joined by Alabama’s Mark Sears and Hunter Dickinson from Kansas, two teams the Tar Heels play in early November and December, and two familiar players – supposed freshman phenom Cooper Flagg of Duke and former Tar Heel Caleb Love of Arizona, who tied for fifth place in the voting. The other AP first teamer is Johni Broome from Auburn, which Carolina could play on the second day of the Maui Invitational.
The 6-foot Davis will be a marked man while Hubert Davis figures out his rotation to replace Armando Bacot, Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan. Teaming again with 6-1 Elliot Cadeau, they will be one of the most talented, but also smallest, backcourts in the country. The Heels caught a lucky break with the return from the transfer portal of 6-3 Seth Trimble, whose 33 points in the exhibition win at Memphis makes him look good enough to be a Swiss Army Knife of sorts on the perimeter.
Granted, Bacot never developed into an offensive threat away from the basket but had an uncanny nose for the ball as UNC’s all-time leading rebounder. The two “J’s” – Washington and Withers – could possibly fill AB’s stat line but that remains to be seen. Transfers Cade Tyson and Ven-Allen Lubin are also in that front court mix.
And Hubert has to find a way to get minutes for 5-star freshman wings Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, great athletes who have to prove they can score at this level.
R.J. taking over the team from Day One is not the right starting strategy. He and the Tar Heels will be better off if Trimble and the new guys get to show off their stuff, so the beep-beep backcourt can have ample room to operate.
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
