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UNC Basketball Guard Among Finalists for Prestigious Award
UNC basketball star RJ Davis may still add to his impressive senior-season trophy shelf.
UNC basketball guard RJ Davis has already put together a long list of accomplishments this season, but he might just be about to add one more.
Davis, who was named the 2023-24 ACC Player of the Year as well as being a consensus first-
team All-American, was recently announced as one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy.
The Naismith Trophy is a national award that is handed out annually to symbolize the most
outstanding player in all of college basketball for the given season.
Davis was named a finalist alongside Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, Houston’s Jamal Shead, and
Purdue’s Zach Edey, who won the award last season. He would be just the fourth Tar Heel to ever win the award, with North Carolina’s last Naismith Trophy winner being Tyler Hansbrough back in 2008. Former Tar Heels Antawn Jamison (1998) and Michael Jordan (1984) have also brought home the award.
Of course, the award would be a fitting accomplishment for a dream senior campaign for Davis. In his fourth season in Chapel Hill, the 22-year-old led the ACC in scoring with 21.4 points per game, as well as knocking down a school-record 113 3-point field goals.
Davis also surpassed the 2,000-point mark earlier this season in the ACC Tournament semifinal
matchup against Pitt. He now sits at 2,072 career points, fifth place all-time and just 73 points shy of
Sam Perkins for fourth place.
If UNC is to advance in Thursday’s matchup with 4-seed Alabama in the NCAA West Regional
and potentially beyond, Davis will have the opportunity to surpass Perkins.
It’s safe to say that no matter the outcome of both the Naismith race and the season as a whole,
Davis has cemented himself as having one of the all-time careers in a UNC basketball uniform.
Stay tuned to All Tar Heels on SI for more UNC basketball news.
