No. 19 UNC displays improved guard play in preseason win

In No. 19 UNC men's basketball's 83-55 preseason victory against Elizabeth City State Friday night, guards Caleb Love and RJ Davis flashed their ability to take a big leap in their sophomore campaigns. 

They were some of the nation’s top recruits coming out of high school. High expectations came alongside their high recruiting rankings, and many believe the star guards fell short of those expectations during their first-year seasons. But the duo seemed to flip the script on Friday's game.

Davis showed his improved capability as a three-level scorer by hitting one of his two three-point attempts, connecting on a transition mid-range jumper through the second half and blowing by defenders on his way to hitting several contested layups. He finished with 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the field in 27 minutes of play. 

He also flashed his potential as a shot-creator and distributor to teammates, which may come as a surprise after averaging 1.9 assists per game last season. Early in the first half, Davis threaded a pass between two Vikings defenders to a cutting Brady Manek for a transition basket, which put the crowd on their feet and displayed how far Davis has come as a distributor. 

The only blemishes to Davis’ night as a floor general were his two turnovers, which he compensated for with two steals. 

Love also had a strong night playing a traditional point guard role, assisting on five of UNC’s scores. He said the duo’s playmaking and shot-creating ability brings a competitive edge to the team.  

“I just think it’s harder for the defense to guard us knowing that we can play on and off the ball,” Love said. “We can give the defense different looks (because) me and RJ are interchangeable, and it’s tough to guard.” 

Sophomore forward and Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia echoed Love’s statements, after being the beneficiary of several assists from him and Davis during the game. 

“I think both of them are capable of playing one or two,” Garcia said. “So, when they’re on the court together, it’s really just whoever gets the outlet (pass), they handle (the ball).”

In addition to his five assists, Love also scored ten points on 2-7 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the three-point arc in his 28 minutes of play. Despite only connecting on two shots from the field, he efficiently drew fouls and went a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line, and rounded out his performance with four rebounds and one steal.  

Although the Tar Heels’ starting backcourt had a strong performance against the Vikings, they still have room to improve before conference play begins.     

The duo will likely need to take and make more three-pointers than they did last season and against ECSU. Davis took 99 three-point attempts last season, and only connected on 33 percent of them. Love took more but was significantly less efficient — hitting just 26.6 percent of his 128 field goal attempts. 

In UNC’s NCAA Tournament loss against Wisconsin last season, the inability to consistently make three-pointers hurt the team when the Badgers packed defenders in the paint, forcing the Tar Heels to shoot from the perimeter or take highly-contested shots in the paint.   

If the Tar Heels are to make a tournament run in March and contend for a national championship (as Love mentioned as a goal after the exhibition), UNC will need its starting backcourt to consistently make three-pointers when defenses pack the paint and key in on the front-court players.  

After UNC’s rout of ECSU and the starting backcourt’s impressive outing, head coach Hubert Davis had high praise and set high expectations for the two players. 

“In the second half, they really settled down, and they looked like some of the best guards in the country,” Davis said. 

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