Chapelboro.com’s coverage of UNC in the NCAA Tournament is proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village, and High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
Carolina ended the season much the same way it began it: consistently inconsistent, and falling a few plays short of what could have been a signature win.
The Tar Heels’ 71-64 loss to Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday had echoes of their loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament, and the loss to Florida in Charlotte, and the loss to Michigan State, and Kansas, and on and on. Head coach Hubert Davis knew the risks inherent in playing constant catch-up – he deemed the practice “unsustainable” early on this season.
But that version of the Tar Heels – the one which looked shell-shocked by an offensive onslaught from the Rebels in the early stages Friday – hadn’t shown up in the team’s recent hot streak. When it reared its ugly head again in Milwaukee, Davis laid the cold, hard truth in front of his team.
“That wasn’t us the last two months. That was us the first four months,” he said afterward. “And I told them that at halftime. I said, ‘I haven’t seen this team since Clemson.’ Against good teams like Ole Miss, it’s just not sustainable.”
And yet, through all the ups and downs of this winter and spring, there was always a kernel of hope. If the Tar Heels could just fix that one thing, then next time the result would finally be different.
Except now, there is no ‘next time.’ Not for this particular group of Tar Heels, which will lose program pillar R.J. Davis after five decorated seasons in Chapel Hill. Davis ends his UNC career as the program’s all-time leading three-point shooter, and because of his ACC Player of the Year win last season, he will have his No. 4 jersey honored in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center.
And before he took off that jersey one final time, Davis took a moment to reflect on his time as a Tar Heel:
“The past five years have been the greatest five years of my life,” he said. “It was bigger than basketball. Just the relationships and the friendships I’ve built here from HD down to the coaching staff to Doug [Halverson] and Jonas [Sahratian], as athletic trainers and strength coach, to [Eric] Hoots as Director of Ops, to Shane, our equipment manager. I could go down the list to our managers. Everyone has impacted and played a role in my five years of being here that I remember for the rest of my life.”
Davis’ impact goes beyond simply how many threes he made. Junior guard Seth Trimble called Davis one of his biggest influences both on and off the court.
“I’ve learned so much from R.J.,” a tearful Trimble said Friday. “The second I stepped on campus, he was there. I asked him, ‘Hey, can we work out in the summer?’ Basically, I asked, ‘Can I follow you? Can I do everything that you do?’ I’m fortunate enough for him to accept me and just share with me all the knowledge he’s shared over the years. I’ve learned how to be a better leader. I’ve learned how to be a more confident basketball player.”
#CarolinaFamily pic.twitter.com/Yd7IAqcOqA
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 22, 2025
But the bitter truth is this: for all of Davis’ accolades and the unanimous praise he’s gotten from teammates and coaches, his career will come to an end after a game in which the Tar Heels missed five free throws, 13 layups and 19 three-pointers. Any one of them could have made the final minutes that much closer.
When asked if UNC’s failed comeback attempt made the loss any harder to swallow, Davis took time to think.
“Coming back from an 18-point game going into halftime,” Davis said, “and clawing our way all the way through to the end…”
Here he trailed off. In that moment, the season’s full gamut of missed opportunities flashed past. Davis finally spoke again:
“It sucks.”
Visit our sports section to find more Carolina basketball coverage from Chapelboro.com, onsite at the NCAA Tournament! Proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village and High & Rubish Insurance Agency.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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