UNC basketball's RJ Davis, Hubert Davis lead All-ACC awards
Rodd BaxleyIt’s felt inevitable for some time now, but it’s finally official.
UNC basketball’s RJ Davis is the 2023-24 ACC Player of the Year. After being left off the preseason All-ACC squad, Davis logged his best regular season as a Tar Heel and helped UNC (25-6, 17-3) win the conference's regular-season championship as its top scorer at 21.1 points per game.
“I just wanted to have a great senior year, especially with how last year went. I just wanted to come into this year with how I wanted to leave my legacy behind,” RJ Davis said Monday on the ACC Network with Mark Packer and Taylor Tannebaum.
“Obviously, the (preseason) list motivated me a little bit – I felt like I deserved to be on it – but I always say awards are won at the end of the year.”
Davis has 19 games with 20 or more points, the most by a Tar Heel since Justin Jackson had 19 in 2016-17 and also won the league’s player of the year award.
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Davis pointed to his career-best, 42-point performance against Miami as one of the individual highlights of his season.
“That’s definitely my favorite game, by far,” he said.
Davis received 68 of 75 votes for ACC Player of the Year. He's the 16th Tar Heel to win the award, and the fifth guard, joining Phil Ford, Michael Jordan, Joseph Forte and Ty Lawson.
Here's a look at the other All-ACC awards as the league's 15 teams play the 2024 ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C.
UNC basketball’s Hubert Davis named ACC Coach of the Year
UNC head coach Hubert Davis joined RJ in the winner's circle as the ACC Coach of the Year. It's the first time Tar Heels won player and coach of the year awards in the same season since Antawn Jamison and Bill Guthridge in 1997-98.
In his third season, Davis reshaped the roster and led UNC to its first outright ACC regular-season championship since 2017.
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After missing the 2023 NCAA Tournament and seeing seven players enter the transfer portal, the Tar Heels added five transfers and two freshmen recruits to surround RJ Davis and Armando Bacot.
The result: A 25-6 record, including a program-record 17 wins in the ACC. UNC continues to rank among the nation's top scoring teams, but the Tar Heel's defense has been their calling card this season. UNC has a top-5 team in defensive efficiency for the first time since 2011, according to KenPom.com.
After enduring a season that saw UNC go from preseason No. 1 to missing the Big Dance, Armando Bacot saw the social media posts about Davis and a steady stream of vitriol.
“I mean, you see the tweets,” Bacot said ahead of UNC’s regular-season finale at Duke.
“Like, I have a bad game, they kill me. Coach Davis has a bad game, they call for his job. Just crazy stuff like that. But like I said, playing at a university like this, you’ve got a lot of emotional fans and people that want to win, which they deserve.
“But we all know coach Davis is a great coach and (will) be one of the greatest coaches, I think, of all time. So everything takes time.”
Hubert Davis always talks about UNC’s ability to block out distractions. It’s something RJ Davis has heard time and again.
“You’re always going to receive noise, whether it’s praise or criticism, and you can never control that,” RJ Davis said. “. … The way he’s dealt with it, I mean, I have a lot of respect for him. I don’t see why the criticism comes, but that’s something you can’t control.”
All-ACC basketball postseason teams
First Team
- RJ Davis, North Carolina
- PJ Hall, Clemson
- Kyle Filipowski, Duke
- Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
- Blake Hinson, Pitt
Second Team
- Armando Bacot, North Carolina
- Reece Beekman, Virginia
- Judah Mintz, Syracuse
- Norchad Omier, Miami
- Quinten Post, Boston College
Third Team
- DJ Horne, NC State
- Harrison Ingram, North Carolina
- Jeremy Roach, Duke
- Markus Burton, Notre Dame
- Sean Pedulla, Virginia Tech
ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Reece Beekman, Virginia
ACC Most Improved Player
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson
ACC Rookie of the Year
Markus Burton, Notre Dame
ACC Sixth Man of the Year
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt
ACC Coach of the Year
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
ACC Player of the Year
RJ Davis, North Carolina
ACC All-Defensive Team
- Reece Beekman, Virginia
- Ryan Dunn, Virginia
- Maliq Brown, Syracuse
- Armando Bacot, North Carolina
- Quinten Post, Boston College
ACC All-Rookie Team
- Markus Burton, Notre Dame
- Jared McCain, Duke
- Carlton Carrington, Pitt
- Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech
- Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached atrbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.