The Duke University basketball team and the North Carolina Tar Heels will return their starting point guard this season to strengthen their rosters for next year.
Tyrese Proctor announced shortly after the Blue Devils' season ended that RJ Davis would return to Durham for his junior season, although his future is still unknown.
Davis has no plans to become an NBA player and a transfer is unlikely, so there were signs of a return to Chapel Hill despite the Heels' incoming recruiting class and the retention of guard Elliott Cadieux. Everything came together for North Carolina's future Tuesday night.
After Seth Trimble, who was a role player last season, announced he was withdrawing his name from the transfer portal and returning to Chapel Hill, CBS Sports insider Matt Norlander reported that RJ Davis is also “intending to return.” .
An announcement regarding his return is expected to be made later this week, the newspaper said.
Davis averaged 21.2 points per game this season, was named the ACC Player of the Year and was a consensus No. 1 player in the nation. Like Jeremy Roach, he still has one year of eligibility left due to the coronavirus-impacted 2020-21 season.
The New York native struggled this season, shooting just 34.6 percent from the field (9 of 26) against Duke, but still averaged 13.0 points per game in North Carolina's two-game win over the Blue Devils. .
He is averaging 12.1 points per game and shooting 38.8 percent in his nine games against Duke.
Duke will have an entirely new roster with the exception of Caleb Foster and Proctor, but the Blue Devils are a very talented team with a large freshman class led by top-ranked rookie Cooper Flagg and transfer portal additions. It will be.
North Carolina will be looking for a replacement for Armando Bacot, who has exhausted all of his eligibility this season, and has been very active in the transfer portal, even though they have yet to sign a promising player.
Despite all the changes in college basketball this offseason, there will still be some consistent elements in the Duke-North Carolina rivalry.