CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Chants of “one more year” echoed in the Smith Center for RJ Davis in last year’s Senior Night home finale — a dramatic difference from Davis’ first game in Chapel Hill as a Tar Heel.

Davis and North Carolina faced College of Charleston in November 2020 with a vacant student section and no one but close family and media in attendance, as the COVID-19 pandemic was still in its first year. The experience was shell-shocking for Davis, who scored 11 points in his UNC debut.

“As a freshman, you’re going, ‘Okay, I’m about to play in this game,'” Davis said on Thursday. “And then you go out there, and it’s like a deadbeat. It’s silent, and you’re playing in front of cardboard.”

That bizarre freshman season began a career for Davis that saw him play in the historic UNC-Duke Final Four matchup, compete for a national championship, win conference player of the year, make an All-American team, win the ACC regular season, break records and soar up North Carolina’s all-time scoring list. And on Saturday, North Carolina fans will celebrate that storied career for a second time.

Davis — who opted to take that “one more year” — will play his final game in Chapel Hill on Saturday when Duke comes into town. It will be Davis’ 73rd regular season game in the Smith Center, where he’s won 63 games. It will also be his second Senior Night, as the team honored him last year. Through five seasons, Davis has scored 1,164 of his 2,620 career points inside the Smith Center. He set the record for the most single-game points in that building last year when he dropped 42 against Miami.

The White Plains guard’s No. 4 jersey will be honored in the rafters when he completes his UNC career, as he is the reigning ACC Player of the Year winner and a First Team All-American performer. The list of accolades and accomplishments goes on for Davis, and he said he expects himself to be emotional this weekend. But for now, he hasn’t fully processed the scope of what he’s achieved in his career.

“I don’t really think I’ve really sat back for myself to actually, starting from freshman year up until now, see what I actually accomplished,” Davis said. “I think that just speaks to the type of kid I am. I mean, it’s just crazy. It’s mind-blowing because I never told myself as a freshman, ‘You’re gonna be ACC Player of the Year, you’re gonna be a First-Team All-American, you’re gonna win all these individual awards. You’re gonna be playing in a national championship, against Duke in the Final Four.’

“It was more just about going out there and seeing if I belonged. And when I look back on this, like, wow, I came a long way.”

(Photo: Johnny Johnson, Special to IC)

From ‘Little Kid’ To Leader

Davis started in 10 of his 29 games as a freshman and averaged 8.4 points and 22.3 minutes per game. But after that year, he became a full-time starter and one of the most prolific scorers in the program’s history.

The 6-foot Davis ranks second all-time on the UNC scoring list as he passed Sam Perkins, Phil Ford and his former teammate Armando Bacot to get to the No. 2 slot behind Tyler Hansbrough (2,872). Davis is third all-time in ACC scoring behind only Hansbrough and JJ Redick. He started the season at No. 30, and he’s already passed players like Tim Duncan, Len Bias, Mark Price, Ralph Sampson, David Thompson, Christian Laettner and, most recently, Johnny Dawkins on his way to the top three. Davis is also first in 3-pointers (340) and free throw percentage (86.3%)

“To have somebody so accomplished and to be able to stay at one institution for five years under the way college is right nowis very rare, and I don’t know how many times that’s going to happen,” Hubert Davis said. “And so of the many things that you can say about RJ, him bep; ing loyal to this program and to this university is something that should be celebrated and should be talked about.”

Hubert Davis remembers recruiting Davis on the Nike Circuit in Atlanta, an event he made an on-the-fly decision to go watch. He got the green light from Roy Williams to attend the event, roam around and look for talent on the court. As he surveyed the 12 courts, he watched the young Davis knock down shot after shot and contribute with his passing and defense.

After that quick viewing, he told Williams about Davis and suggested that UNC should continue to follow him closely.

“I was like, ‘There’s this kid named RJ Davis and he’s pretty good,'” Hubert Davis said. “‘I think we need to take a look at him. He just plays the right way and looks like a really good kid. I love the way that he interacts with his coaches and his teammates, and just the kind of guy that we would love to have a part of our program.'”

As a fifth-year senior, RJ Davis set out to become a better leader for the Tar Heels this season. He said he’d been so used to being “the little kid” while playing with players like Bacot, Garrison Brooks, Sterling Manley, Andrew Platek, Leaky Black, Brady Manek and Pete Nance.

“And now, I look to my left, and they’re all gone, and I’m the only one left,” Davis said.

Davis joined a recruiting class that included Caleb Love, Day’Ron Sharpe, Walker Kessler, Puff Johnson and Kerwin Walton. As the others went on to transfer or play in the NBA, Davis remained. Davis said he’s enjoyed being a veteran presence around the team, especially on a younger and newer UNC squad that makes him feel a bit younger himself. He said the increased leadership role taught him how to become more sacrificial in helping the team win games.

“​I think that’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had this year, asking myself, ‘What am I willing to sacrifice for this team?'” Davis said. “Being a leader, it’s a full-time job. You should be exhausted by the end of the day. You’ve got to understand that sometimes, you have to put the team first and sacrifice yourself, and sacrifice your wants and needs. I’ve come to the conclusion where it’s like, I’m going to do whatever it takes. If we win, I’m more than happy. It’s more about us winning rather than individual stats of how I’m playing.”

One More Dance With Duke

The memories of returning to Franklin Street after upsetting Duke in Cameron Indoor three years ago still stick out to Davis among his favorite memories at UNC. He remembers the lack of belief the outside world had in that North Carolina team winning the spectacle that was Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game. Three years later, Davis will play his final game in Chapel Hill and once again face a Duke team that will be overwhelmingly favored to win.

Davis will try to guide North Carolina (20-11, 13-6 ACC) through this weekend’s rematch against Duke in hopes of securing a signature victory to help the team’s NCAA chances. He is 6-4 in his career against the Blue Devils.

He remembers growing up and watching the packed-out UNC-Duke on TV games before competing in the rivalry inside two nearly empty venues as a freshman. Now, as someone that’s taken part in that rivalry at every level, he looks to help the Tar Heels close the regular season with a statement win on what could be an emotional day.

“I never take for granted the type of games I’ve played in, the magnitude of the games, the built-up energy, the interviews I do with you guys,” Davis said. “I never took that for granted because I know at one point in time, this could all be gone. As a kid, this is what you dream of. So I always reminded myself of that, like whenever I was a freshman and then playing in the Final Four against Duke.”