CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina veteran guard RJ Davis met with the media Thursday afternoon at the Smith Center to discuss himself, his team, and the Tar Heels’ game at Duke on Saturday.

The Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4 ACC) and Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0) tip off at 6:30 PM and the game will air on ESPN.

Davis leads UNC in scoring 17.6 points per game. He’s averaging 4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game and finally has his 3-point percentage over 30 at 30.3%.

Above is video of Davis’ presser and below are some notes from what he had to say:

*Saturday will be the fifth time Davis has played Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and four games in his record there is 3-1. What kind of checklist is necessary to excel in the Blue Devils’ fabled home?

“First and foremost, I would say your mindset. You have to be mentally ready to play there. A great environment, obviously the fans get into it. But I would say mindset number one and at the same time just take it possession by possession. Basketball is a game of runs especially against Duke in the years I’ve played them; it’s always like a back-and-forth game and an exchange of buckets.

“So, just know that every possession matters. (Get) great shots… or either a stop as well.

“Mindset, possession, and staying together kind of just like having blinders on because of the environment, because of the rivalry, and a lot of anticipation always gets built up for these games. A lot of pressure.”

*Davis said the situation is similar the Tar Heels are facing right now with what they dealt with in 2022 when heading to Duke for what was legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game. The Heels had a ton of pressure on them to get a quality win to make the NCAA Tournament and they did by pulling away from the Devils that night.

As that Carolina team did, he said this group “We can literally have a flip of the switch” in order to become a new team with a win Saturday.

*Davis is 20-for-39 from the floor, including 8-for-20 3-point range, over the last three games. He’s also averaged 19.7 points in the stretch. What has been different with his improved accuracy and consistency?

“I’m not thinking as much these past few games. I felt like individually I’m just happy for the way I’ve been persevering and obviously battling with a lot of mental thoughts and overthinking, second-guessing myself while playing, especially early on in the year.

“I feel like these last few games I kind of just let go a little bit. I wasn’t really trying to be perfect, trying to tell myself I have to make every single shot. It’s not possible, not even Steph (Curry) does that.”

*In addition, Davis discussed going over to Duke for the final time in his career; he said avoiding getting too emotional is by “staying in the present;” how he’s imparted wisdom to his teammates about what it takes to win at Duke; how the Heels will deal with Duke’s size; and what it’s been like for him personally since the Pitt game.