Why UNC star RJ Davis couldn’t resist returning for his fifth season — and one more shot

Welcome to the heartbeat. Take a seat.

The Davis family living room in their White Plains, N.Y., home is, in many ways, ordinary. Two well-worn, cream-colored sofas directly across from each other. A circular coffee table between them. Floor-to-ceiling bay windows, with decorative candles on the ledge. And the soundtrack to it all? Usually, barking, courtesy of the family Yorkshire terrier, Diggy.

“Any life decisions we make,” RJ Davis said, “yep, in that living room.”

About five years ago, there was something else in that space, too: a poster board. On it, Davis, then a high school senior, had written the names of each of his four college finalists, the schools the four-star guard was considering attending. To make his choice, Davis used one of his mother Venessa’s favorite practices. “Pros and cons,” she said. “As a psychologist, it’s something you use a lot.” With Venessa and the rest of his family — father Rob, younger brother Bryce and, of course, Diggy — gathered in the living room, Davis worked through his options.

When he’d finished writing, the decision was obvious: North Carolina.

If he only knew then what the next four years would hold.

An up-and-down freshman season that ended with Roy Williams’ shocking retirement. Then a slog of a sophomore year — until the Tar Heels turned into a rocket ship and manufactured one of the most miraculous Final Four runs in March Madness history. That led to hype entering Davis’ junior year, all of which promptly went up in flames as UNC became the first preseason No. 1 team in the modern era to miss the NCAA Tournament. And, finally, Davis’ senior season, when he sprouted into a full-blown star, posting one of the best individual campaigns in the baby blue blood’s storied history.

𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚.@ariidavis_ is the 2024 ACC Preseason Player of the Year!

🔗 pic.twitter.com/pMR3OiwYtT

— ACC Men’s Basketball (@accmbb) October 15, 2024

This spring, at the end of April, the Davis family once again gathered in their operations center. Another decision needed to be made: Would Davis — a first-team All-American last season and one of college basketball’s most recognizable figures — return to college for a fifth season, available because of the COVID-19 pandemic, or go pro?

Because Davis is only 6 feet, the feedback he received from the NBA Draft advisory committee suggested he’d go late in the second round or undrafted entirely. But coming off his best season, what more could he prove to scouts?

“I’ve always had dreams and aspirations of playing at the next level, of playing in the NBA,” he said, “and it’s like, why not right now?”

Davis settled into one of the sofas. Time to talk.

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The first weekend of April, Davis was exactly where he’d dreamed of being: Phoenix, the site of the Final Four.

Just not for the reason he’d hoped.

That’s because the past two seasons, Davis had a singular motivation: a redo. Ever since North Carolina magically stormed through the NCAA Tournament in Hubert Davis’ debut season, advancing all the way to the 2022 national title game, he wanted another crack at college hoops immortality. He was 20 minutes and a 15-point halftime lead versus Kansas away from hanging a seventh NCAA championship banner in the Dean Smith Center, and then, whoosh, everything evaporated. He’s one of five active players left from that team but the only one still wearing Carolina blue.

Last season, Davis unequivocally became “the guy” for the first time in his college career, especially after his three-year backcourt mate, Caleb Love, transferred to Arizona. And he did everything in his power to will the Tar Heels back to that stage while rewriting UNC’s record books. Davis went from averaging 12 points and three assists per game during his first three seasons in Chapel Hill to setting career highs in points (21.2 per game), 3-point percentage (39.8), assist-to-turnover ratio (better than 2-1) and steals (1.2). But most importantly, he led UNC to its first ACC regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2019.

A redo, suddenly, seemed like a very realistic possibility.

Then came the Sweet 16. Red-hot Alabama. And Davis, for the first time all season, went cold. He’d made at least one 3-pointer in all 36 games to that point but went 0-for-9 from deep in a 2-point loss to the Crimson Tide.

“Shots I normally make,” Davis said. “Had I made one 3 …”

His voice trailed off.

“I kind of felt like it was my fault, just because we were so close to reaching … everything.”

A week later, Davis was there in the desert as a finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, presented annually at the Final Four. Even brushing elbows with the biggest names in the sport, being recognized for his on-court excellence, Davis couldn’t shake one underlying thought: I’d rather be playing.

He couldn’t bring himself to turn on any of that weekend’s Final Four games.

On one hand, Davis’ jam-packed trophy case spoke for itself, including ACC Player of the Year and the Jerry West Award (given annually to the nation’s top shooting guard). He etched himself into North Carolina lore, in the same stratosphere of excellence as some of the school’s best guards, names such as Phil Ford, Ty Lawson and, yes, even Michael Jordan. By virtue of his accomplishments, his jersey is going the same place theirs did: the Smith Center rafters.

But at the same time, he couldn’t stop ruminating. On the loss to Alabama. The what-ifs. Every minute detail that added up to defeat.

By the time he landed back in Chapel Hill, offseason roster-building was already in full swing. Hubert Davis was holding end-of-season meetings with all his players. And Davis knew what his head coach was going to ask, whenever they sat down:

So, RJ, what are you going to do?

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Tyler Hansbrough doesn’t play much basketball these days.

“My knees,” the now-39-year-old joked. “If I’m on the court, my knees are gonna have some issues.”

But Hansbrough still works out regularly, even sneaking over to the Smith Center for a lift when he can. One day in April, he was finishing a session when a familiar face approached.

“Rarely do I try to give anybody advice,” Hansbrough said, “but he actually asked me.”

It makes sense why Davis sought Hansbrough out. The star guard spoke to plenty of people in his circle about what he should do: Armando Bacot, his four-year teammate and close friend; Cam Johnson, arguably UNC’s top active NBA player; Theo Pinson, who won the program’s last championship in 2017; and even Marcus Paige, now on North Carolina’s coaching staff. But nobody could offer the perspective Hansbrough could.

That’s because about 15 years ago, Hansbrough was in the same bind. After his standout junior season, when the 6-foot-9 forward was the unanimous national player of the year, averaging a career-best 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds, he, too, had a pro decision to make. Had he declared, based on feedback that then-coach Williams had gathered, Hansbrough learned he likely would’ve been a late lottery pick.

But like Davis, he couldn’t get his mind off a recent NCAA Tournament heartbreak. UNC had just lost to Kansas in the 2008 Final Four, only its third defeat all season, and Hansbrough hadn’t been at his best.

“Everyone thinks that whenever you get a chance to go to the NBA, you have to go. But if you believe in yourself and you think you can be a pro, one more year in college, that’s not going to derail your pro chances,” Hansbrough said. “One more year wasn’t going to change anything for me, and I felt like I could improve.”

And?

“And we had a chance to win a national championship.”

The rest is history. Hansbrough came back, and his decision was validated when UNC did win the national title his senior season. Hansbrough was right about his pro prospects, too; the Indiana Pacers selected him 13th in the 2009 NBA Draft, the same late-lottery range that was forecast for him a year prior.

The other consideration Hansbrough mentioned to Davis? Name, image and likeness, which didn’t exist in his heyday. Davis knew NIL wouldn’t be the primary factor in his decision — “If money wasn’t involved, I’d still be playing basketball,” he said. But by virtue of his record-setting senior season, he’d earned a bevy of endorsement deals: Crocs, Verizon and one of his favorites, JBL. (Although it probably wasn’t his neighbors’ favorite; Davis’ JBL speaker may or may not have earned him a noise complaint at his apartment complex. “There’s a bass boost, so I always press that,” Davis said with a wry smile, “and the next thing you know, it’s boom.”)

Hansbrough explained his thought process to Davis in UNC’s weight room and left him with one final thought.

“You can listen to all the most important people in your life,” Hansbrough said, “and you can take their advice — which you should value — but you’re the only one that has to live your life.”

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Not long after his talk with Hansbrough, Davis returned to White Plains.

“I like to go home and get grounded,” he said, “because that’s where I feel safe, and that’s where my heart lives.”

Still unsure of what he’d do, the guard continued training. Most days, he met with his skills trainer, Ross Burns, at the local Life Time Fitness, and he regularly drove to Connecticut to meet with a strength and conditioning specialist. And between those sessions, it wasn’t uncommon for Davis to swing by his old high school, Archbishop Stepinac, for an early morning or late-night shooting session.

“My good companions here in the building are our maintenance guys,” said Patrick Massaroni, Davis’ high school coach at Stepinac. “We make it work.”

Other schools poked around Davis, his parents said, seeing if he’d consider entering the transfer portal, but UNC and the NBA were the only options he considered. Whenever he thought he’d made up his mind, that lingering memory of not winning a championship reared its head.

“My mind,” he said, “was changing every day.”

With the May 1 deadline for Davis to decide rapidly approaching, he had to stop waffling. So, back to the living room for final deliberations.

Bryce — now a freshman at Albany — wasn’t in town, so Davis FaceTimed his younger brother and put the phone in his lap. Rob and Venessa sat across from him on the opposite sofa. Diggy scurried across the hardwood floor.

Rob and Venessa reiterated what Hansbrough said: It’s your life, and you have to live with your choice.

With his mind racing, Davis stepped outside to gather his thoughts. He sat down on the family’s front porch steps and made a phone call.

To Williams, the coach who recruited him to UNC in the first place.

He walked around the block on the phone, and then came back to the family living room. “Whatever they talked about, he didn’t share,” Venessa said, “but it seemed to settle him, for sure.”

Davis didn’t make up his mind right then, but a few days later, Davis came downstairs from his bedroom and announced he’d made his decision.

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Davis kept his decision close to the vest. He told his parents, obviously. Hubert Davis. But he didn’t even text his teammates.

“I wanted,” he said, flashing a toothy grin, “to keep people on their toes a little bit.”

So on the night of April 30, Davis set a timer on his phone for 3 a.m. and went to sleep. When the alarm went off, he woke up and posted a highlight video to Instagram with a simple two-word caption: “I’m back.” And then … Davis put his phone on “Do Not Disturb” and went back to bed.

The ultimate mic drop, letting the college basketball world stir while he slept.

“It wasn’t like I was saying no to my dreams (of playing in the NBA); it’s more so, I’m putting them on pause,” Davis said. “Besides the year I had this past year, there was no greater feeling than playing in that Final Four and playing in that national championship my sophomore year. I just remember watching the ball go up, and the buzzer sound hit, and we were on the losing side. … I want to be on that winning side.”

His decision finally behind him, Davis drilled down on his shooting the rest of the summer, motivated by that 0-for-9 showing against Alabama.

How much of his training was done through an NBA lens, knowing he’ll likely have to play point guard because of his size? Not much.

“That’s where guys get in trouble: They start listening to critics or scouts and start thinking they’ve got to change something,” Burns said. “No. Really, just keep being the dominant, elite shooter and scorer you are — and because you’re going to have more eyeballs on you, be a facilitator.”

So far, so good on that front: Through three games, Davis has 14 assists against just three turnovers. No. 10 UNC plays Hawaii on Friday and begins play Monday in the Maui Invitational.

There is so much still on the table for Davis this season, but three things stand above the rest.

A December rematch with Alabama as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge. The chance for Davis, if he scores the same number of points he did last season, to tie Hansbrough atop UNC’s, and the ACC’s, all-time scoring list (albeit with an extra season). “That’s hard to put into perspective,” he said. “Once I graduate and officially leave, then it’ll hit me. Like, wow, I really accomplished a lot of great things here.” And finally?

Hang a banner. Complete the redo.

“I’m just going to fulfill this moment,” Davis said, “and make the best of it.”

(Top photo of Elon’s Nick Dorn and UNC’s RJ Davis: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)