UNC senior guard RJ Davis named AP first-team All-American

UPDATED March 20 9:10 p.m.: UNC senior guard RJ Davis picked up two more All-America honors on Wednesday from the NABC and the USBWA, becoming the 19th Tar Heel player to be a consensus first-team pick. 

RJ Davis, the ACC men’s basketball player of the year, has added another accolade to his senior campaign. The veteran guard was named a first-team All-American by The Associated Press on Tuesday. He received 55 out of 62 votes from AP poll voters and is the first Tar Heel to make the AP first-team since Justin Jackson in 2017. 

“RJ has been our closer, and in moments like that [close games] it’s a huge luxury to know you can put the ball in our guard’s hands and he’ll either make the right shot or make the right play,” big man Armando Bacot, an AP All-American honorable mention, said of Davis during the ACC tournament.

The 6-foot guard hailing from White Plains, N.Y. has had a standout season, leading the ACC in scoring. He now joins a list of 14 other UNC players who have earned first-team honors, including legendary Tar Heels like Phil Ford, Michael Jordan and Tyler Hansbrough. Davis has also garnered first-team All-America recognition from Sporting News, ESPN.com, and sports commentator Dick Vitale.

The senior guard, who is averaging 21.4 points per game, has not yet announced his decision for next year — whether he will declare for the NBA draft or return to UNC. Davis came to Chapel Hill in the fall of 2020 and has an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I definitely do have a COVID year,” Davis said after UNC’s senior night win over Notre Dame earlier this month. “So I’ll definitely get into that and thinking about that more after the season rather than right now."

The Tar Heels are coming off of a loss in the ACC championship game against N.C. State on Saturday, in which Davis recorded 30 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. He also broke the North Carolina single-season record for most 3-pointers made. The senior guard is now up to 106 made triples on the season after his 4-of-13 performance on Saturday, passing Justin Jackson. Jackson made 105 shots from behind the arc during UNC’s national championship season in 2017.

On top of his scoring ability, Davis has shown off his clutch factor this season. Most recently, he took over UNC’s ACC tournament semifinal game down the stretch, knocking down crucial 3-pointers to elevate the Tar Heels to a 72-65 win over Pitt.

“I don't know if he [RJ] was looking over at me for approval,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said, recalling a late triple from the senior guard. “I was like, yeah, I like that, that's nice. Do it again. So it was great. But it's not just tonight.”

UNC junior wing Harrison Ingram and first-year guard Elliot Cadeau proudly declared Davis as the best player in the nation following the victory. Davis is currently a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, presented to the nation’s most outstanding player, as well as the Jerry West Award for the top shooting guard in the country. 

As for now, Davis will look to carry his success into the Big Dance. The Tar Heels secured the No. 1 seed in the West Regional of the NCAA tournament and will face Wagner. That game is set for Thursday at 2:45 p.m. at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte and will air on CBS.

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