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The journeys of the two Davises are amazing with a capital A.
After sweeping Duke for the outright ACC regular-season basketball title, UNC’s first in seven years, the Tar Heels received the two highest individual honors that voting members of the media bestow annually.
R.J. Davis was the overwhelming pick as ACC Player of the Year, garnering 68 of the 75 ballots counted. Duke’s Kyle Filipowski received 3 votes, Clemson’s P.J. Hall collected 2 votes and Davis’ teammate Armando Bacot and BC’s Quinten Post got 1 each. In basketball parlance, that’s a blowout.
Davis established himself early in the season as the best player in the conference, and his ascension continued from there. He made it onto projected National Player of the Year and first-team All-American lists.
He had not been named to the two preseason All-ACC teams, and if there was a third team he probably would not have made that, either. Understandable because R.J. was merely a good player coming into his senior year and benefited from taking over the shooting guard role that he shared with Caleb Love since they entered school together in the summer of 2020.
He led the ACC in scoring with a 21-plus point average, set a Smith Center record of 42 points and only twice in 31 games did not score in double figures. He was second in the league in field goals made and averaged 3.5 assists per game. That he will likely be first-team All-American is further testimony to his skills and teamwork.
And considering the narrative surrounding Hubert Davis when he began his third season as head man of the Tar Heels, his runaway selection as ACC Coach of the Year is astounding. Hubert was coming off a 2023 campaign where his team failed to gain an NCAA tournament bid after a preseason ranking of No. 1 in the country. He was popular but his future was under debate.
Coach Davis clearly had a learning curve when he took over for Hall of Famer Roy Williams, and how he flattened that curve over the third year speaks volumes for his dedication to and passion for his job, his ability to overhaul a disjointed roster, and his noticeable adjustment from overselling earlier teams to being honest while staying positive was a leap of maturity.
He earned the trust of his new recruits and blended them with the returnees, and his ramped-up emotion in practices and during games seemed to make the bond stronger. According to his players, Davis could be both fiery and fatherly.
Whatever happens in the postseason, and we all hope it is a long run, the two Davises are sitting atop the 15-school ACC, exactly where they belong.
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.
Well said.