Free Throw Artistry

JJ Redick is on the top of this heap but two current ACC players are in the Top Ten.

This is not a guy you want to foul.

The way things are going RJ Davis, better known within his family as Robert, Jr., is carving a special place in the thick annals of ACC basketball. Not only is the unassuming Carolina senior a highly effective guard, sharp at scoring from long range and steady with the ball, but he’s a master of a basketball art attempted by many but rarely perfected to his exacting standard.

Before RJ Davis came along, the North Carolina program had already boasted a few Davises — (coach) Hubert Davis, an Ed, a Walter, all of them first-round NBA selections, as well as a Luke and a Larry.

Funny thing about Larry Davis. During one practice drill at the Smith Center in the early 90s, the native of Denmark, SC, screwed up. Nothing major, but enough to cause coach Dean Smith to halt the action. Not given to flamboyant or punishing outbursts, Smith got right to the point in chastising the guard for inattention.

“Freshman, Larry?” the Hall of Fame coach inquired cuttingly.

Davis hung his head and, point made, Smith and his Tar Heels moved on, eventually winning the 1993 NCAA title.

Carolina’s current Davis, a 6-foot guard, hails from White Plains, NY, a suburb just north of New York City. In a region rich with point guards tracing back decades, Davis was Mr. Basketball in New York state in 2020, a year after Clemson guard Joe Girard III (formerly of Syracuse in its Boeheim era) was similarly honored.

When it comes to individual free throw acuity, historically no one surpasses Duke. Four of the top 11 in single-season accuracy in ACC history were Blue Devils; JJ Redick (No.1 at .912), Luke Kennard (No. 7 at .867), Trajan Langdon (9^th at .8616), and some guy named Scheyer (11^th, 861).

So far this year Jeremy Roach leads Duke players in foul shooting with .806 accuracy on 36 tries, good for 13^th in the league.

The hirsute Davis, meanwhile, has slipped to second in ’24 behind Kowacie Reeves, a junior by class and name. He’s listed by Georgia Tech as a 6-7 guard. Reeves tried only 28 free throws in the Yellow Jackets’ first 9 games; Davis attempted 52 in one more outing and has made 95.3 percent of his tries.

He is currently enjoying the top career free throw conversion rate in UNC history (.8625), ahead of Shammond Williams (.8488 from 1995-98), and ninth ever by an ACC regular. Davis, who recently made 39 and then 41 straight free throws, ranks just a shade behind Girard in what could be an entertaining shootout as the season unfolds.

Davis’s shooting is multifaceted; he’s also eighth in 3-point conversion in the ACC at .364 and is second in ACC scoring at 21.0. Through last weekend’s loss at Kentucky he’d scored 23 or more points in 6 straight games, each time leading UNC.