RJ Davis speaks to the media after an 89-87 loss to Alabama in the Sweet 16.
Roommate wrote, you know, he was my roommate throughout the whole year on the road and every moment is, yeah. And just, what does it mean? I guess is your, is your time here with coach Davis coming in, you know, taking over the home, you guys have had, you know, up seasons, down seasons. Um, what does that mean to you to be part of his team? It means a lot just because, you know, especially me and coach Davis's relationship. I mean, he recruited me here, um, when I was in high school and gave me an opportunity and saw something in me that I probably didn't even see myself at that time and just for him just to see the progression he has made each year as a head coach. Um, I enjoyed just every moment that we shared and him being my head coach. I mean, it's hard to just describe everything because he, he's had some success and I know it's been a kind of a roller coaster but just the, the faith and belief that he's instilled in. Not just me, but everyone in the lock room has been, um, something that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. Just going back to the end of last year, I was talking to Seth and he said he felt like last season, everyone just kind of wanted it to end. Do you remember that? And could you just describe that emotion a little bit? I don't know what we talk about last year. That's fine. Yeah, just compared to, I guess, sorry, this year. Can you talk about just the closeness, the tightness of the group, just the brotherhood that you guys have shared this season? Right? Mhm This year has been probably the most fun I've had all year just for my team perspective. I mean, this, this group is hard to, we get back just because of all the personalities you had on this team, the funny moments, the togetherness going out to eat stuff like that. I mean, this team chemistry was real. Um and you can see everyone is so emotional because everyone have full belief that we should go far just because of how special this team was. So, I mean, that just shows how much of a team you really are and how much care and believe we have one another. RJ you mentioned, uh obviously, you know, you and Armando, you know, kind of, you know, coming back, you know, year after year and, and things like that kind of building uh you know, alongside H Hubert Davis, I guess, kinda, you know, throughout the years, you know, in an era where it's, you know, kind of probably easier than ever to, you know, depart or whatever, what kind of kept you coming back and get you like, you know, within the what kind of, you know, kept you in a moment, the sorry, just trying to fulfill things that we felt like we didn't accomplish um immune. Like me and ma have a lot of love for this place and we didn't want things to end how it did last year and wanted to kind of just come back and just restore success in this program and it wasn't just me and him, it was a whole collective group thing. And uh this sucks because it means just of how much we believe in each other and felt like we could have really done a lot of great things with this team. But um I mean, I just love playing in New Jersey, love playing for coach Davis and the rest of the coaching staff and playing for, you know, Carolina Finn RJ for tonight specifically. What, what do you think is gonna linger in your mind when you look back and think about um I mean, I just wasn't good enough, I didn't make enough shots, um came up short so I could have done better. Um They said, I said it just hurts so cause I know just this won't, it won't be the same group and you're not going to get this type of group back again. So it's, uh, just tough to put into perspective. What can you say about the possibility of 1/5 year for yourself in, in this moment? Yeah. The, no, no. Uh, yeah, I mean, it's tough. I haven't even thought about it. I mean, put into a thought of, you know, what that would look like, just because I was living in the present moment. I don't really know what to say to how to answer that question right now. What was it like? Knowing that you were walking off the court and into the locker room with Armando the last time, there's definite finality there. I mean, it hurts because, I mean, he was the heart and soul of his team. He's done so many great things throughout his whole career and established a big time legacy as a target. He and he's definitely one of the greats and, um, just not kind of get far and can't come up short, just kind of share that moment with him and, uh, could be more difficult knowing how close this group had gotten through the course of the season, how close you guys are, you know, as teammates and really as friends. Yeah, I mean, we're brothers and, uh, the type of relationships and friendships that you'll, you'll have for the rest of your life and it goes beyond basketball. I think we've established like a brother over here and, um, you know, looking back on them when we were old, they were adults. We'll definitely just, you know, just kind of remember this moment but remember just the, the year we have had as a team and being number one seed, um, beating a lot of, you know, doubts and opinions just coming together as a group. And, um, I mean, this is a special group. Yeah.