ACC stars crown RJ Davis as the hardest player to guard in the conference
North Carolina guard RJ Davis won ACC Player of the Year last season for a reason, so it’s no surprise that his quickness and shot-making ability make him one of the most annoying players in the country to try to lock down defensively.
As a senior, Davis averaged an ACC-high 21.2 points a game, a considerable step above the runner-up Judah Mintz of Syracuse with 18.8. Davis was also an AP All-American and became the only UNC basketball player to reach 1,900 career points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 250 three-pointers, and 100 steals.
At the ACC Media Day event last week, players from around the ACC were asked questions about what their team would look like, what they had improved on individually in the offseason, and, of course, who is the hardest player to guard in the ACC.
While the fifth-year guard from Chapel Hill praised Hunter Sallis of Wake Forest, who shot over 40% from behind the arc last season and averaged 18 points a game, the majority of the players, including Sallis, paid their respects to Davis.
Here’s what the players had to say about the toughest player to guard in the ACC:
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forrest
“It’s RJ Davis. He’s just extremely quick, can really shoot it, and score at all three levels. He was the player of the year for a reason.”
Chris Bunch, Syracuse
“I don’t want to even give him his credit like this, but RJ Davis. He is for sure a tough matchup. He makes shots. The thing with him is that he is going to get what he wants, you just have to stop everyone else. He’s definitely the toughest player to guard in the league.”
Chase Hunter, Clemson
“I would say RJ Davis is a great player. He can do a lot. He can create, he can create his own shot, he can pass well, and then he always has other great teammates around him, so you can’t just worry about him. You got to make sure you bring your A-game against him, for sure.”
Mylyjael Poteat, Virginia Tech
“I would say the toughest player to guard is RJ Davis. Especially when they are running so much ball screen stuff. You have to be out there hedging and all that, he performed pretty well against us.”
JR Konieczny, Notre Dame
“RJ Davis is the toughest player. He’s so quick and his change of direction, he can just do it in a blink of an eye. It’s just so hard to stay in front of him. Yeah, he’s a problem.”