CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — RJ Davis accomplished enough in four years at North Carolina to earn his jersey and eventually earn a place among the honored numbers in the rafters of the Smith Center for the Blueblood program.
Yet he is still here.
“With five years, I know some people might say, 'Oh, you need to find a job now,'” Davis said with a laugh.
It's the last ride for Davis — the only returning Associated Press first-team men's All-American from last season — and most of the players who received an extra year of eligibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic , which has largely grown out of men's and women's basketball. Season. This has been the most unusual of the recent landscape-shifting changes in college sports, temporarily altering the bedrock principle of athletes racing for four seasons to compete amid empty arenas, campus bubbles and endless nose-swab testing. Has given. 2020-21 season.
Its impact has been widespread. Concurrently, incoming rules allowed players to move freely between schools through the transfer portal and earn fame through name, image and likeness (NIL) activities, rather than pursuing potential professional careers. There was a mixed temptation to stick around in college. This in turn resulted in rosters becoming older, with coaches preferring to include experienced players over newcomers following recent examples of how experience wins in March.
The fifth-year player is heading into the spotlight this year, with Davis headlined by the ninth-ranked Tar Heels and fellow preseason AP All-American Hunter Dickinson, No. 2 Alabama's Mark Sears, No. 10 Arizona's Caleb Love. who began his career at UNC alongside Davis – and No. 11 Auburn's Johnny Broome.
Davis is the only person in that group to be in a school.
“I think we're in a time now where college basketball – at least in my eyes – has been rejuvenated by veteran players and players coming back for another year,” Davis said in an AP interview. ” “It seems more like a story behind it.
“You have people who have been single, but not many people talk about people who have been single for more than two years. I think their stories are also something that needs to be told. and I like that.”
growing old
According to NCAA data, the average experience level for Division I men's players was 2.41 years for 2018-19, the last full season untouched by the pandemic, but has increased to 2.62 years for 2024-25. Yet that data is based on a four-year scale, meaning it doesn't tell the whole story of how players in their fifth year and beyond will increase that figure even more.
Consider Louisville, Xavier and Middle Tennessee. The Cardinals, Musketeers and Blue Raiders were among the oldest rosters with a combined average experience level of 3.37 years. But each includes about a half-dozen fifth-year players (or older in some cases), and the data is being updated to more accurately capture what increases their combined average to 3.78 years.
“Lately I've looked at it this way: You're really giving someone something — it's not just adding a year,” Duke coach John Scheyer said earlier this year. “You are adding a year to their best years. …That’s a big advantage.”
A look at recent Final Four lineups supports Scheyer. In 2022, North Carolina and Villanova each had at least one fifth-year starter. San Diego State, Miami and Florida Atlantic did so a year later.
By last April, all four teams had at least one, with Cam Spencer leading UConn's No. 2 scorer (14.3) to repeat the NCAA title while NC State had three (DJ Horn, DJ Burns Jr., and Casey Morsell ) Were. The surprise appearance was that program's first Final Four appearance since 1983.
In contrast, the last two Final Four teams have had only one first-year freshman starter: UConn one-and-one guard Stephon Cassel last year.
The value of the experience weighed on Sears' mind in the comeback win following the Crimson Tide's first Final Four run.
“I saw our team and I wanted to be a part of it and bring home Alabama's first national championship in basketball,” said Sears, who began his career at Ohio.
turning pages
Still, while Scheyer felt players affected by the pandemic deserved the extra year, he's ready for it to end. So is Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips.
“It's time to move on, because this has put pressure on freshmen and younger players and opportunities because of some of the student-athletes with extra years in the system,” Phillips told the AP. “And I think for the health of the college game there remains the opportunity to come and play four years and then go out, either graduate or go to the pros.”
Michigan State Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo went further, calling the extra eligibility year a “good intention” that may have turned out to be a “mistake”.
“It seemed fair and good, but when you combined it with the void and the transfer portal, it became complete chaos,” Izzo said.
“I was talking to a guy today whose son was developing fine,” Izzo said. “And suddenly there was some pressure on the coach. …and they bring in some people, so he doesn't get a chance to develop anymore. You wonder, you always hear that it's good, that players should be able to do what they want to do. But they affect the lives of other players. To be honest with you, I still think it's a mess.
There is no doubt that managing rosters and scholarships has become more difficult. But top talent also has value in name recognition for long-term fans, whereas in the past the focus has been on the NBA's one-of-a-kind talent.
At the very least, it's easily able to be quipped about the age of college players, like LSU coach Matt McMahon faced Auburn Broome after their previous Ohio Valley Conference meetings at Murray State and Morehead State, respectively.
“It feels like it's been almost a decade since I coached against him,” McMahon said.
Ending a record?
Davis has seen a lot, too.
The 6-foot standout arrived at Chapel Hill in 2020 for Hall of Famer Roy Williams' final season and a run at Indiana in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Then, when Hubert Davis replaced the retiring Williams, the Tar Heels made a strong trip to the 2022 title game and then became the first preseason AP No. 1-ranked team to miss the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
But Davis took a huge leap to become the ACC's scoring leader (21.2), set the 38-year-old Smith center's single-game scoring record (42 points against Miami) and win the Jerry West Award as the nation's top shooting guard. Won. The Tar Heels won the ACC regular season race and earned the No. 1 NCAA seed.
“One thing I've learned about myself throughout my time here is to accept and adapt to change,” he said.
And there could be another big issue ahead.
Davis finished his first four seasons tied for fifth on UNC's career scoring list (2,088 points). If he matches last year's scoring total, he will tie program great Tyler Hansbrough (2,872) for the school and ACC career scoring record.
He avoids overlooking that potential moment because he'll have an extra year of production to get there, pointing to the same mantra – “It's about proving yourself right instead of listening to other people's opinions, ” he said – which has led him to this point.
And she's looking forward to enjoying this final year, no matter what it entails.
“I think no matter what school you're at, it's important to embrace the times here,” Davis said. “It's great. Sometimes four might not be enough.”
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AP Sports Writers Larry Lage in Michigan and John Zenor in Alabama contributed to this report.
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