Hubert Davis evaluates RJ Davis' turnaround, shooting improvement

North Carolina celebrated a dominant victory over Louisville on Saturday defeating the Cardinals 80-59 in a game where five Tar Heels scored in double figures. One of those players was junior guard RJ Davis, who has put together some strong shooting performances following an early season shooting slump, which head coach Hubert Davis discussed on Monday.

“Yeah you know I would say a couple things, and again I filter it through my own experience, there’s times where you shoot the ball and for whatever reason you’re just not in rhythm and it doesn’t go in,” Hubert Davis said.

Davis is a career 41% shooter from the field, but shot below that average in five of UNC’s first eight games of the season.

“But when you’re a good shooter I just always feel like the percentages will just even out, and so if you miss 10 I’ve always believed in that confidence that the next 10 are going in,” Hubert Davis explained. “And so for RJ he’s a great shooter and a great scorer and so his percentages, getting back to normal is not a surprise for me because he’s a really good scorer and a really good shooter.”

Davis may have had a slow shooting start to the season, but has really picked things up lately for the Tar Heels. He has shot above 45% from the field in the Tar Heels’ last four games, averaging 17 points in those contests. He’s also boasting an impressive 55.6% from three-point range in those contests, putting in 12 three-pointers during his most recent four-game stretch.

“At the beginning of the year he was dealing with an injury on his shooting hand, he dislocated one of his fingers on his shooting hand right before the start of the season and he had it taped up and it bothered him for a while. And so maybe that contributed a little bit, because I know now it feels 100% and great but he is shooting the ball extremely well right now,” Hubert Davis said.

When Davis is healthy and shooting the ball efficiently like he currently is, he’s one of the most effective backcourt players in the ACC. He’s scored in double figures in all but one game this season for North Carolina (the one game being a blowout win over The Citadel where he also logged a season-low in minutes) while also leading the team the team in assists per game.

“He’s in a good rhythm but it’s not surprising to me that his percentages have gotten back to where they are right now,” Hubert Davis said.