Davis Rises To The Occassion
GREENSBORO, NC – North Carolina needed RJ Davis to step up Thursday night, and the freshman came through.
With starting point guard Caleb Love having a bit of an off night and the Tar Heels facing one of the better defensive teams in the ACC, someone needed to run Carolina’s offense while also hitting a few shots.
Love finished the night 2-for-12 from the field with no assists and shooting guard Kewin Walton had a second consecutive low production game, netting just two field goals. Davis essentially played the role of both: He ran UNC’s offense making sure the ball went into the post and he drained four three-pointers in leading the Heels to an 81-73 victory over Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals of the 68th Annual New York Life ACC Tournament.
“I just didn't want to go home,” Davis said, when asked about scoring 14 of his 19 points after halftime and helping the Heels pull away from a game that was a tussle for much of the night. “I didn't come here to lose.
“I know Virginia Tech was a great team, so you know, they ran good stuff offensively and defensively, and I just trusted my teammates to find me in good spots and vice versa. We doubled down to the bigs and they double-teamed, and they kicked it back up to the perimeter guys for us to hit some huge shots down the course of the game.”
The most important and impressive sequence of the night commenced with Carolina leading 50-49 and 10:07 left to play.
Dared to shoot all night, Leaky Black passed up an open three on the right wing flicking the ball back to Davis who promptly drained a three-pointer for a crucial four-point advantage. Eighteen seconds later, Davis forced a turnover by Virginia Tech’s Hunter Cantoor turning it into a layup drawing a foul on Cantoor. The freshman from New York converted the free throw, giving him a 6-0 run and pushing UNC’s lead to 56-49 in the span of 23 seconds.
“I know I hit a big three and then I just kept telling myself ‘one stop,’” Davis said, recalling the spurt. “Every time after we score, kept telling myself and my teammates all we need is one stop.
“And once I saw his back turned to me, I reached in and stole the ball and got an and-one. And I think that changed the momentum of the game, and I think that was like a key for us to win the game.”
Thursday’s performance by Davis came after a 14-point outing in Wednesday’s romp over Notre Dame. It marks another uptick in Davis’ production, something that has been anything but consistent this season.
He scored in double figures in UNC’s first five games, including 12 in a loss at Iowa, but then failed to score more than six points in five of the following six contests. Fifty-one points over the next four games were followed by 21 points in a six-game stretch, and so on. This week in Greensboro, though, Davis has taken his game up a notch.
The culmination of learning from earlier struggles and maturing his hoops fiber on the floor, the next step has been taken, Black says.
“Yeah, it's crazy,” he said. “I feel like I've watched him grow up almost. So, it's like at the beginning of the year, him and Caleb would get down on themselves for mental stuff and little turnovers and stuff like that. I feel like it's lately as soon as he turns the ball over, he's like, next play.
“He's still got that in the back of his mind, but he's like, next play. You see the maturity growing inside of him, so we're proud of him.”
Davis was on to the next play and then some Thursday night, and was as responsible as anyone for the Tar Heels advancing.