UNC basketball has a glaring hole as the calendar flips to May.
No Tar Heel guard has scored more points than RJ Davis, who finished his five-year career with 2,725 points as the second-leading scorer in UNC history and third on the ACC’s all-time list.
Davis, an All-American guard and ACC Player of the Year, will have his No. 4 jersey hanging from the rafters of the Smith Center at some point in the future. He averaged nearly 20 points per game in his final two seasons.
As of April 29, fifth-year coach Hubert Davis has six guards committed to play for the Tar Heels in the 2025-26 season. Those players have combined for 1,648 points in eight combined seasons of college hoops experience.
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With RJ Davis no longer in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels desperately need another guard to fill the gap as a go-to scorer. They also have to replace Ian Jackson, who set a UNC record by scoring 23 or more points in four straight games as a freshman and averaged 11.9 points per game. Jackson entered the transfer portal on April 7 and picked St. John’s on April 21.
Seth Trimble returns for UNC, Tar Heels add guards via transfer portal
Of the six guards set to suit up for UNC, senior Seth Trimble and Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans are the lone players in the group to average double-digit points in a season. Trimble averaged 11.6 points, 5 rebounds and 1.4 steals as the Tar Heels’ top two-way player last season.
Evans, Virginia Tech transfer Jaydon Young and West Virginia transfer Jonathan Powell were guards added via the portal. Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis are the latest freshmen guards to choose UNC.
Evans averaged 10.6 points, Powell averaged 8.3 points and Young averaged 8.1 points per game last season. Those are solid additions for the Tar Heels to surround a frontcourt that includes five-star recruit Caleb Wilson, Alabama transfer Jarin Stevenson and Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar.
But UNC will need at least one of its guards to go from solid to superb if the Tar Heels are going to go from a First Four berth to competing for a spot in the Final Four. In each of UNC’s last six Final Four appearances, UNC’s top scoring guard averaged at least 15.4 points per game.
Each of the 2025 Final Four participants had a guard who averaged at least 12.3 points per game. Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr., who averaged 22.3 points in the NCAA Tournament, was named the Most Outstanding Player after leading the Gators to a national championship.
With RJ Davis gone, UNC is in need of a bucket-getting guard. After a few big-time scoring performances as a junior, Trimble looks like the most likely candidate to step into that role.
But, as a whole, that role remains unknown for a program that has traditionally featured some of the best guards in the sport.
