North Carolina lead guard RJ Davis, a 2023-24 First Team All-American, is returning to the Tar Heels for a fifth and final season, sources told CBS Sports.
Davis' decision to stay on at Carolina will be made public by the end of the week, one source added.
It's a huge move for a UNC squad that projects as top-five-good heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Here at CBS Sports, Gary Parrish has the Tar Heels ranked fourth in his Way Too Early Top 25 And 1. In opting to return, Davis is using the bonus COVID season that was provided to every Division I athlete who was in college during the 2020-21 season. Former North Carolina center Armando Bacot made the same decision a year ago.
And thus: for the second straight season, UNC is bringing back an All-American. Bacot, who just finished his college career, was a Third Team honoree in 2022-23. That means North Carolina will have two different All-Americans return to school in back-to-back years for the first time since James Worthy, Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins each won All-America honors over multiple seasons in the early 1980s.
Davis — the only 2023-24 First Team All-American coming back to men's college basketball — is the most accomplished player returning to the sport. He also won ACC Player of the Year in a landslide. Davis averaged 21.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot 39.8% from 3-point range for a Tar Heels team that earned a No. 1 seed but fell in the Sweet 16 to fourth-seeded Alabama, which made the Final Four. Against the Crimson Tide, Davis had 16 points and seven assists but was just 4-of-20 from the field and a brutal 0-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Davis will return to a UNC backcourt that includes sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau and junior combo guard Seth Trimble, the latter of whom seriously considered transferring out but has decided to continue to play for Hubert Davis. UNC is expected to lose power wing Harrison Ingram to the NBA Draft, and thus it's still working the portal for a starting big who can run with the Heels' deep deployment of wings. Jalen Washington, a 6-10 rim-running big, is also poised to play a key role for Carolina.
And the roster-building isn't done yet.
Sources said UNC remains in contact with three high-end wing transfers who are being heavily courted by a litany of top-end programs. The Tar Heels are hoping to land one of the following three players: Belmont transfer Cade Tyson, Dayton transfer Koby Brea or Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic. Davis' return gives North Carolina Final Four aspirations, but he's also a high-volume guard who averaged 16.4 shots last season. Plus, North Carolina also has two inbound five-star freshmen expected to earn legitimate minutes: shooting guard Ian Jackson (Bronx, N.Y.) and small forward Drake Powell (Pittsboro, North Carolina).
