ACC Tipoff: 3 takeaways from UNC basketball's Hubert Davis, RJ Davis, Seth Trimble

CHARLOTTE — UNC basketball will once again be viewed as one of the favorites to win the ACC championship this season.

Coming off a regular-season championship and Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels are replacing three of their five starters. Fifth-year guard RJ Davis , the reigning ACC Player of the Year, and sophomore Elliot Cadeau are at the point of attack as UNC’s key returners.

One of 18 teams in the league, the Tar Heels attended ACC Tipoff on Thursday, signaling the unofficial start of the season for the conference. Head coach Hubert Davis, RJ Davis and Seth Trimble were in Charlotte to represent the program.

Here are some takeaways from that trio as college basketball season gets closer on the calendar.

UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis talks ‘transactional’ nature of NIL

UNC coach Hubert Davis had success in pulling players from the transfer portal last season, watching Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram become key pieces to the Tar Heels’ ACC regular-season championship puzzle. This offseason, the Tar Heels added Belmont transfer Cade Tyson, Vanderbilt transfer Ven Allen-Lubin and Georgia Tech transfer Ty Claude.

When asked about recruiting as it relates to NIL, Davis said UNC “is not a transactional program.” Davis wants players who have a “deep desire and passion to be a part” of the program as a whole.

“With the involvement of NIL and the transfer portal, I think there’s a sense of transaction in anything,” Davis said. “But what I’m referencing there is: there has to be a commitment to wanting to be a part of Carolina, be a part of this team, a part of this program, a part of this university.”

RJ Davis has ‘unfinished business' with Tar Heels

As RJ Davis was going through the process of deciding whether to return to UNC or pursue an opportunity as a professional, he had conversations with Armando Bacot, Theo Pinson, Hubert Davis and Roy Williams.

Davis will have a chance to become UNC’s all-time leading scorer, but he ultimately decided to come back so he could check two boxes: win a national championship and be a better leader.

“Overall, I had unfinished business with how I wanted my legacy to be remembered,” he said.

“How I wanted to leave an impact not only on this program, but my teammates and the coaching staff. Obviously, wins and accolades are great, but life goes beyond that.”

Seth Trimble seeing different side of Jalen Washington

Junior big man Jalen Washington will enter the season as, arguably, the most important player on UNC’s roster. A 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward, Washington will be asked to help fill the void left by Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot. So far, according to junior guard Seth Trimble, Washington appears ready to level up this season as the Tar Heels’ best rebounder.

“I think Jalen Washington has done a great job on the boards. Maybe he just sticks out to me the most because he’s gonna let it be known,” Trimble said.

“J-Wash, this whole summer, he’ll grab a board and finish it on you. He’s gonna scream, say this and that. … You can tell that competitive spirit, that competitive fire, it’s in him this year. He’s playing a lot more physical this year. … He’s conditioned better than anybody this year and he’s lifted more than anybody this year.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: ACC Tipoff: 3 takeaways from UNC basketball's Hubert Davis, RJ Davis, Seth Trimble