CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina guard RJ Davis met with the media Wednesday afternoon at the Smith Center to discuss his team’s game at top-ranked Kansas on Friday night, about himself and the team in general.
The ninth-ranked Tar Heels and Jayhawks tip at 7 PM EST and the game will air on ESPN2.
Above is video of Davis’ Q&A session and below are some notes from what he had to say:
*Facing Kansas on Friday also reminds Davis of the last time he went up against the Jayhawks, which was in the 2022 national championship game. The Tar Heels led by 15 points at halftime that night but ended up losing 72-69. Davis scored 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting from the floor, including 0-for-5 from the perimeter. He converted all five of his free throws.
He also handed out two assists and had 12 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive glass. But, the Tar Heels lost, and it still haunts the reigning ACC Player of the Year.
“We was just one rebound away from winning it,” he said. “It’s definitely something that the following year I was rewatching that game over and over again because you get so close to your dream that you set as a freshman, or just as a high school athlete; you always want to win a national championship from watching different teams, different players play in March Madness and you want to be the last two standing.
“So, just to be that close, it was definitely heartbreaking for me. A lot of emotions I can remember from that game. I remember looking up at the clock and then watching it hit zero and the buzzer going off.
“It took a while for the tears to come but they ended up going right down my face in terms of a lot of the hard work that we put into it as a team throughout that year and how we changed that whole year around. It was a tremendous feeling. But to end up short like that was heartbreaking.”
*Davis spent some time during timeouts getting treatment with a “thumper” on his legs. The minutes eventually added up for Carolina’s “Iron Five” that included Caleb Love, Armando Bacot, Leaky Black, and Brady Manek. Davis averaged 39.4 minutes over the last five games UNC played in the tournament.
“That year, we played five, six guys all the way to the end, and obviously your body’s a temple and sometimes your body gives out, and I think we just ended up short with it in terms of our energy. Injuries played a role in it, too.
“I started cramping a little bit, so that’s a lot when you’re playing 40 minutes every game, every night. But I enjoy doing it, I’m not going to sit here and complain about it.”
*Last season, UNC was the top seed in the West Region but lost in the Sweet 16 to 4-seed Alabama. Davis struggled that night shooting 4-for-20 from the field, including 0-for-9 from 3-point range. It was the only game all season he didn’t hit at least one three.
The man who defended Davis during most of his 38 minutes that night in Los Angeles was Rylan Griffen, who now plays for Kansas. At 6-foot-6 and a longer wingspan, Griffen, who scored 19 points and hit five threes in the game, also bothered Davis into the tough night. Though Davis took the blame Wednesday for his performance.
“I know he was guarding me the whole game. Obviously a longer defender just to make it difficult for me to make tough shots, kind of push out on the perimeter to catch the basketball. Just little stuff like that.
“I’ve rewatched that game, most of my shots were all good looks, they weren’t anything that were difficult for me to make, I just missed them. But he’s a great defender. I remember seeing him CP3 camp as well. I’m looking forward to it again.”
*In addition, Davis spoke about Kansas guard DaJuan Harris, who played 27 minutes for the Jayhawks in the title game, and about their past facing each other before college.
*He also discussed the emphasis put in practice this week about finishing at the rim. The Tar Heels were 9-for-21 on layups and 4-for-7 on dunks in Monday’s 90-76 win over Elon.
*And he was asked a couple of questions about how he communicates to the other players on the roster and how Hubert Davis wants him to be the connector.
