The return of RJ Davis has UNC basketball primed for a run at another national championship.
The tradition continues! CBB Review is again ranking the top 100 teams heading into the new college basketball season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: UNC basketball.
As usual, Duke and UNC are atop the ACC heading into the new college basketball season. This year, the Tar Heels look to piggyback on the success of RJ Davis, one of the top players in the nation. He’ll share the backcourt with Elliot Cadeau, whose promising freshman season gives a very promising outlook for his sophomore year.
Transfers Ven-Allen Lubin, Cade Tyson, and Ty Claude could all play pivotal roles, as UNC looks to find some scoring and rebounding replacements for Armando Bacot, who is no longer in the North Carolina blue. Jalen Washington is the projected starting five, which will be another key position to watch, as he steps into a new role, and UNC goes into a new season without their star big man.
Hubert Davis also brings in five-star freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, who both could see a lot of playing time early in their college hoops careers.
It’s a talented, deep UNC basketball roster that has the potential to get much better as the season goes along. UNC has a lot of hype heading in, and will be a team to track from November to March.
Click here to learn more about our preseason top 100 teams heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Head coach:Â Hubert Davis (4th season at UNC, 4th season overall)
2023-24 record:Â 29-8 (17-3)
2024 postseason finish:Â Lost to Alabama (89-87) in Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:Â
- Armando Bacot (14.5 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.5 BPG, 54.0 FG%)
- Harrison Ingram (12.2 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 38.5 3P%)
- Cormac Ryan (11.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.2 APG, 35.4 3P%)
Notable non-conference games:Â
Projected Rotation
PG: Elliot Cadeau (6-1, 180, So.)
2023-24 stats: 7.3 PPG, 4.1 APG, 2.2 RPG
SG: RJ Davis (6-0, 180, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 21.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 39.8 3P%
SF: Ian Jackson (6-4, 190, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #8 ranked recruit
PF: Ven-Allen Lubin (6-8, 230, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 12.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.0 BPG, 5.0 FG% (Vanderbilt)
C: Jalen Washington (6-10, 235, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 3.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.2 APG, 70.1 FG% (54-77)
6: Seth Trimble (6-3, 195, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 5.2 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 0.9 APG, 41.9 3P% (13-31)
7: Drake Powell (6-6, 195, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #11 ranked recruit
8: Cade Tyson (6-7, 200, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 16.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 46.5 3P%, 49.3 FG% (Belmont)
9: Jae’lyn Withers (6-9, 220, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 4.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.6 APG, 20.0 3P% (4-20), 53.5 FG%
10: Ty Claude (6-7, 230, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 4.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 0.7 APG (Georgia Tech)
11: James Brown (6-10, 215, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #89 ranked recruit
UNC Basketball team MVP: RJ Davis
If you were to place a bet on who will be the national player of the year in college basketball, RJ Davis would be the safest choice. The UNC guard has done it all in four seasons. He’s scored over 2,000 points, been named an All-American, and won a National Championship.
There isn’t much more Davis needs to do to cement his legacy in UNC’s history, but he can certainly become one of the top players of all time with another championship and memorable season this year.
It’s also going to be a test of Davis’s ability without Armando Bacot. The two went hand-in-hand for the past few years. This time around, Davis is the clear leader, but with a lot of talented sidekicks. It’ll be fun to watch his overall maturity and skillsets with a new-look Tar Heels team.
UNC Basketball make-or-break player: Jalen Washington
I think it goes without saying that UNC’s paint presence will rely solely on how much Washington developed in the offseason. As a freshman, he put up some promising minutes and looked uber-efficient inside the paint, where he made about 70% of his field goal attempts.
But this year, Washington will need to play starter minutes and lead the attack inside the paint. There are a lot of forwards and rebounders on this team, but Washington and freshman James Brown are the only players 6-10 or taller on this UNC Basketball team. That means they’ll be undersized going into most games, and will also be limited in their overall experience. Washington is still young, but Carolina is hoping he grows up quick.
Key analytic: PPG
Rebounds, turnovers, and assists were all aspects of the game UNC basketball dominated in last season. But I’m going to keep it simple – this team scored a lot of points, and they’ll look to do the same this year.
In 2023-24, the Heels averaged 81.9 PPG, 19th in the country. Since Hubert Davis took over as head coach, UNC hasn’t averaged fewer than 76.2 PPG. He has continued to make UNC a tough team to stop.
But how will the offense look without Bacot? It seems to be the first big coaching challenge for Davis, and while the other Davis (RJ) will provide scoring and playmaking, losing a safety blanket in Bacot poses challenges all across the board.
I like Cadeau’s outlook as a sophomore, and Seth Trimble is another young player who could take a big step forward. Belmont transfer Cade Tyson lit it up with the Bruins, and could be called upon to knock down shots in his new role.
Whoever Hubert Davis roles with, he’s going to demand a team that values putting the ball in the basket often.
UNC Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish:Â 1st in the ACC
Projected postseason ceiling:Â NCAA Tournament Champions