Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Caleb Love, R.J. Davis decide to run it back at North Carolina
By ADAM ZAGORIACaleb Love is the latest North Carolina star to say he’ll run it back for the 2022-23 season.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore’s announcement Sunday came one day after sophomore R.J. Davis said he would return, too.
With Love, Davis, Armando Bacot and Leaky Black all returning, North Carolina should be in the mix as the preseason No. 1 team and a contender to reach another Final Four in 2023. Brady Manek is out of eligibility and the Tar Heels will need to find someone to play his role as a shooter, floor spacer and leader.
The 6-foot-4 Saint Louis native averaged 15.9 points, 3.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds this season as UNC made a run to the NCAA championship game against Kansas. He averaged 18.8 points in six NCAA Tournament games and scored 30 against UCLA in the Sweet 16 and 28 against Duke in the national semifinals.
Davis, the 6-foot White Plains, N.Y. native, averaged 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists and came up huge during the NCAA Tournament, posting a 30-point, 6-assist, 5-rebound game in the upset of reigning national champion Baylor in the Sweet 16, 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the national semifinals against Duke and 15 points and 12 boards in the title game against Kansas.
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis came within one game — one half really — of becoming the first coach to win the NCAA title in his first full year as a head coach.Now he’ll have another legitimate shot going into his second season.
The Tar Heels have the No. 14-ranked recruiting class in 2022 with point guard Seth Trimble, small forward Tyler Nickel and big man Jalen Washington.A.J. Griffin, Davis’ former Archbishop Stepinac teammate who is a freshman at Duke, declared for the NBA Draft Sunday as a projected Top 10 pick.
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
