North Carolina's RJ Davis, a First Team All-American, is returning to the Tar Heels for fifth and final season

Hubert Davis will be bringing back the most heralded player in college basketball next season — on a loaded Tar Heels roster

By Matt Norlander Apr 24, 2024 at 10:33 am ET• 2 min read

North Carolina lead guard RJ Davis, a 2023-24 First Team All-American, is returning to the Tar Heels for a fifth and final season, sources told CBS Sports. 

Davis' decision to stay on at Carolina will be made public by the end of the week, one source added. 

It's a huge move for a UNC squad that projects as top-five-good heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Here at CBS Sports, Gary Parrish has the Tar Heels ranked fourth in his Way Too Early Top 25 And 1. In opting to return, Davis is using the bonus COVID season that was provided to every Division I athlete who was in college during the 2020-21 season. Former North Carolina center Armando Bacot made the same decision a year ago.

And thus: for the second straight season, UNC is bringing back an All-American. Bacot, who just finished his college career, was a Third Team honoree in 2022-23. That means North Carolina will have two different All-Americans return to school in back-to-back years for the first time since James Worthy, Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins each won All-America honors over multiple seasons in the early 1980s.