The UNC men’s basketball program will honor R.J. Davis’ No. 4 jersey at halftime of the Tar Heels’ game vs. Louisville at the Smith Center Monday, Feb. 23.
Davis played five years at Carolina, arriving prior to the 2020-21 season and staying through 2024-25. His class of players was the last to enjoy an extra “COVID year” granted to all NCAA athletes who participated in a season affected by the COVID pandemic.
As a sophomore, Davis played a key role during UNC’s memorable run to the national championship game, becoming immortalized as part of Carolina’s “Iron 5” starting lineup alongside Caleb Love, Brady Manek, Leaky Black and Armando Bacot. Davis had one of his best career games during that run, scoring 30 points and playing all 45 minutes in an overtime win against No. 1 seed and defending national champion Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Two years later, Davis put together a dominant season for a Carolina team which would win the ACC regular-season title and earn a No. 1 seed in the tournament. He posted career bests in scoring average (21.2 points per game) and three-point percentage (39.8 percent) while setting a new program record for three-pointers made in a single season (113). He set a new career high with a 36-point performance against Wake Forest that season, then broke his own record the following month with a 42-point showing against Miami — the most prolific scoring game by a Tar Heel in the history of the Dean Smith Center.
For his accomplishments that season, Davis was named ACC Player of the Year, a unanimous first team All-American, the winner of the Jerry West Award (given to the nation’s best shooting guard) and a finalist for National Player of the Year.
Davis currently holds program records for double-figure scoring games (140), three-pointers made (359) and free throw percentage (86.1 percent), and his 175 career games played are not only a UNC record but an ACC record as well. In his five-year career, Davis never missed an official game with an injury.
Davis’ No. 4 jersey will be the 54th to be honored at UNC. He fulfilled two separate requirements to be honored with his ACC Player of the Year win and first team All-America recognition. His is the first jersey to be honored at the Smith Center since Joel Berry’s, making Davis the first Tar Heel to play under head coach Hubert Davis to be recognized.
UNC’s game against Louisville tips off at 7 p.m. Monday night.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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