N.Y. Guard R.J. Davis Picks Carolina

BySHERRELL MCMILLAN 63 minutes ago

The 18th birthday for R.J. Davis – Oct. 21, 2019 – is one he won’t soon forget.

During a ceremony at his high school – White Plains (N.Y.) Archbishop Stepinac – Monday morning, Davis announced a verbal commitment to North Carolina. He chose North Carolina over finalists Marquette, Georgetown, and Pittsburgh.

“I’m heading to UNC and it felt like it was the right situation for me and my goals that I want to achieve,” Davis told 247 Sports. “They are a great school and obviously have a winning tradition and I just feel like the bond that was there with the teammates and the coaching staff was unbelievable.”

Davis joins guard Caleb Love and forwards Walker Kessler and Day’Ron Sharpe in the Tar Heels’ 2020 class. Davis is ranked No. 57 overall in the senior class according to the 247Sports Composite. In addition to his four finalists, he held offers from California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Maryland, UCLA, and Vanderbilt.

After signing only one player from New York in their first 13 seasons, Roy Williams and his staff have gotten commitments from Empire State guards in three of the last four classes. Junior Andrew Platek signed in 2017, freshman Cole Anthony in 2019, and now Davis. They join a long list of N.Y. guards who went south to Chapel Hill to play college basketball, including Tommy Kearns, Jimmy Black, Kenny Smith, King Rice, Derrick Phelps, and Ed Cota.

According to Stepinac coach Patrick Massaroni, the Tar Heel coaching staff — led by UNC lead recruiter, assistant coach Hubert Davis — likes Davis’s mettle.

“What it comes down to is they are huge fans of his ability to score the ball, facilitate, and get guys involved,” explained Massaroni. “Obviously they have Cole Anthony and Hubert had a part in that. (Hubert) had a great time playing with the Knicks and loves New York players. He loves the New York mentality, the toughness and pride they play with.”

In the final set of games – on the final day – of Nike’s EYBL weekend in Atlanta in April, Hubert Davis had his eyes on one court, but kept seeing R.J. Davis score on another. A three here, an assist there, and eventually he turned his full attention to the lead guard. R.J. Davis, going up against former top five recruit R.J. Hampton, finished with 30 points (9-12 FG, 6-6 3pt, 6-7 FT) and had a new admirer in UNC’s assistant coach.

The conversation continued over the next several weeks to college coaches’ three chances to evaluate players in June. The entire UNC staff got a look at R.J. Davis at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va. Two weeks later, Hubert Davis flew to an event in New York during the June scholastic evaluation periods. North Carolina’s interest was obvious as Hubert Davis departed the tournament after one look at R.J. Davis. 

“He shoots in the mid-40s from three and has mastery of pace of play and rhythm,” Massaroni said. “He never loses flow and has a feel for the game – that’s something Hubert really likes. He’s just an unbelievable kid. But when he turns it on, he’s a bad dude on the floor. They (UNC) are big fans of that.” 

Davis picked up an offer from UNC on July 17, a little more than a week after his standout performance at the Nike EYBL Finals at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C. At Peach Jam playing for the N.Y. Rens, a Carolina staff member was at seemingly all of Davis’s games and watched him post 20.6 points (45.1% FG, 42.5% 3pt, 81.6% FT), 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

“He’s a phenomenal, phenomenal kid and a great student,” said Rens head coach Andy Borman. “He can do everything as far as running the team and he can get you buckets. The best thing about R.J. is his efficiency. He’s really good with very few shot attempts and has a knack for getting to the free-throw line… he’s so efficient and his decision making is light years ahead of his age. He’s just a really good basketball player.”

After taking his official visit a week ago, Davis told Inside Carolina what qualities he wanted in his college choice.62COMMENTS

“I want to have a real college experience at a winning program,” Davis said. “I want to go to a place where I can have a relationship with the coaching staff, reach out to them before or after practice and have meaningful conversations. I just want to make an impact and have an opportunity to play wherever I go.”

The North Carolina Basketball program clearly fit that description for him.