NEW YORK, NY – Only those living under a massive boulder aren’t aware of RJ Davis’ amazing scoring run over the last five games.
Or, one simply doesn’t follow college basketball. Those who do, in particular North Carolina, surely know the senior guard is on a tear, one that hasn’t happened with any regularity in the fabled program over its eight-decade run of success.
With 26 points Tuesday night in an 87-76 loss to No. 5 Connecticut at Madison Square Garden, Davis has totaled 23 or more points in five consecutive contests, and 26 or more in the last four. He is the fifth Tar Heel ever to score 26 or more points in four straight games and the first to do so in 53 years when legendary forward Charlie Scott incredibly did it 12 consecutive games in 1970.
The other Heels to achieve this: Lennie Rosenbluth; Bobby Lewis; and Billy Cunningham. That puts Davis in some rather impressive company.
“You know, RJ is RJ,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said following the loss to UConn. “He's been that way for four years straight. And he's one of our leaders, and not just on the court, but off the court as well. His ability to shoot and create for others, is a huge bonus for us.
“The way that he played in the game, especially scoring the basketball in the second half, helped us get it to a point where we're (down) to five or six points.”
Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram has seen the senior guard’s game up close for about seven months now, and uses one simple word to describe him.
“He’s a bucket,” Ingram recently said.
Of late, Davis has been a bucket on a different level.
In the last five games, all against quality power conference teams, Davis has scored 23 against Villanova, 30 versus Arkansas, 27 against Tennessee, 27 versus Florida State, and 26 on Tuesday night. Four of those teams are known for rugged play and in-your-grill defense. Yet, they couldn’t keep the White Plains, NY, sharp shooter in check.
Davis now has scored 133 points in the last five games, the most by a Tar Heel over a five-game stretch since Tyler Hansbrough totaled 146 in 2008. He’s averaging 26.6 points per contest in this stretch.
And this isn’t a case of him being a chucker, either. Davis’ efficiency has been more than acceptable. He is 8-for-17 (47.1%) in each of the last three games. He is 41-for-91 (45.1%) from the field overall, including 16-for-41 (39.0%) from 3-point range. Perhaps UNC’s greatest all-time free throw shooter, Davis is 30-for-31 in the stretch, too.
“One of the unique things about RJ, there’s very few players in the country that have the ability to do what RJ can do,” his coach said. “He’s a gifted playmaker and scorer with the ball in his hands. He can also do it without the ball in his hands.
“He can create and make shots with the ball, he can also come off screens, he does a terrific job of moving without the ball. He’s a complete basketball player.”
Davis has mostly played off the ball during this run, which he attributes to getting more catch-and-shoot opportunities. Yet, he still has handed out 13 assists against just six turnovers. He was Carolina’s point guard the last two years, including last season with a clumpy team that never meshed offensively.
He’s adjusting, and seems to like the new role.
“Now, I’m a little more off the ball, which allows me to be the scorer that I naturally am,” the 6-footer said. “I think I’ve been a bucket since… At this level, I’m just remaining humble, but also just trust myself, and my teammates are doing a great job of putting me into positions to be that bucket.”
Ah, bucket. Former Tar Heel Justin Jackson was referred to by teammates as “Walking Buckets,” and it just so happens he’s the last UNC player to lead the team in scoring in five consecutive games, doing it in six straight in 2016-17, the last year the Heels won the national title. Jackson was also ACC Player of the Year that season.
In addition to pouring the ball through the hoop, Davis has become a verifiable leader. His teammates have moved aside, almost like on a dance floor giving space to the featured performer.
“Going into this year, him being able to have his own team and being able to kind of lead us, I think that’s been a huge part of us,” veteran and UNC all-time leading rebounder Armando Bacot recently said. “I mean, I told RJ earlier in the season, this is his team. We’re all just falling in line.
“It’s his senior year. Point guards win championships, and in order for us to be a good team, he has to be huge for us. He has to be that guy we give the ball in the clutch. And to be able to do those things, I think that’s what he’s been doing. I think he’s been probably the best point guard in the country this year.”
Davis identifies his leadership as the part of his game that has grown the most into this season. No longer saddled with having to share space, shots, and words with Caleb Love, who is now at Arizona, Davis can more comfortably be himself.
That means lead, dish, battle, scrap, claw, and get buckets, the latter of which he has done a lot of late.
