Update: Consider this your game thread for a game no one will see unless you are there or shelling out ten bucks. Use the live stats below to follow along if you are listening to the radio broadcast.
Where: Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC
When: Saturday, December 12th, 7:30 PM
TV: None
Live Stats: SCACC Hoops
Records: UNC 7-2; Presbyterian 2-7
Easily the biggest news coming from this game or at least the run-up to it is the news Marcus Ginyard will not play due to pain in his left foot. UNC is saying the pain is unrelated to the injury which cost Ginyard most of last season. Supposedly this is a purely pre-cautionary move. In other words if this any other player with pain in his foot who no history of issues with said appendage then I imagine that player would be in the lineup. With Ginyard, an overabundance of caution is prudent especially because they can. This game will be a cake walk and UNC does not play again until next Saturday versus Texas. That is essentially a two week break. Besides, this is the same kind of caution the medical staff used with Tyler Hansbrough at a similar point in the season a year ago.
Looking at the bright side, someone is getting some extra playing time today. It will be interesting to see how Roy opts to plug the gap left by Ginyard. Could he opt for the Larry Drew/Dexter Strickland backcourt? I suppose but it leaves him really thin at point guard. Perhaps go big with Tyler Zeller in the game and Will Graves as the two? Probably not since there would be too few decent ballhandlers on the court. We could see Graves at the two and either John Henson or one of the Wears at the three. I expect Justin Watts will see more playing time given how thin the backcourt is without Ginyard.
I would offer a scouting report on the Blue Hose(yes, really) but I am not sure there is much you can say about a 2-7 team from the Big South who lost by 43 to Clemson. They are a young team with no seniors and six freshmen. According to Pomeroy, Presbyterian has the 301st offense in the country and 319th defense while playing slow as mud ranking 338th in tempo with a fabulous 61.6 possessions per game. In other words, the Blue Hose can at least be thankful they did not play this game a year ago. The Heels would have dropped 120 on them. This season’s team might break 100 for the first time. Biscuits!
UNC 101 Presbyterian 56
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As a Johnston County resident and North Johnston graduate, I am pulling for the SJ Trojans this evening. Good luck!
color me not at all assuaged by the part about it NOT being related to the old injury. how big is a foot, anyway?
how do we know it isnt something stressed because it was making up for the injury? or that he was favoring that part of his foot and this happened?
i’m concerned.
I’m concerned as well HTTE, I was absolutley bawling when I heard about this injury.
But, OMG! Look at the team’s records! They’re reciprocals!
“how do we know it isnt something stressed because it was making up for the injury?”
Ginyard had a stress-fracture in the 5th metatarsal (outside bone; mid-foot) last year and the “new” pain is also in his left foot, but obviously does not involve the 5th metatarsal. Overcompensation-injuries usually occur on the opposite foot/leg from the previous injury. The foot is pretty easy to map, so if they say it’s not related, there is a good chance that it is not related.
I agree w/ CMichael that the injuries are most likely unrelated. However, I get the feeling he might be a little “fragile” or injury prone. If the Heels were playing Duke, would he play?
Of course, I truly hope he is ok, from selfish fan standpoint as well as for the young man, who didn’t have to come back and play for the Heels.
“If the Heels were playing Duke, would he play?”
I think the answer to that is almost 100% yes. Like THF said, a game against a 2-7 cupcake w/ 6 days off on either side is basically a scrimmage. No comparison to an ACC game.
I think that Ginyard has not played his best in the last two games. He had a weird taping job on his left knee for a while and he has made a lot of turnovers and less than crisp plays.
On the other hand he pulled off a 360 spin move that would have made Lawson proud. So who knows. Two weeks off should help.
Justin Watts gets the start at SG in place of Ginyard.
http://channelsurfing.net/watch-north-carolina.html
Sorry, that’s the link to watch the game. Watts is looking really good so far.
Thanks for the link Misplaced Tar Heel!
Thanks for the link. Way to come through for us.
Many thanks for link Misplaced Tar Heel
Hi, can anyone tell me why Dex isn’t playin?
No problem. Oh, by the way, anyone catch Hansbrough’s stat line from last night? Not too shabby!
Strickland is being held out with a knee issue.
Hey, thanks for the link!
Hey, thanks for the update on Strickland.
Presbyterian is a really bad team. I think Marc Campbell would be their leading scorer easy. I shudder to think what the team last season would have done to this team.
^probaly would have put around 130 on them.
Thanks for the link
The good: Davis and Henson’s performances
The bad: Ginyard AND Strickland being out with injuries
The ugly: Both Ginyard and Strickland STILL had better performances, despite not playing, than Will Graves. Are we witnessing a vanishing act? I need to know where this silly, “I think I wanna play for the North Carolina Tar Heels” act gets real…he’s been around too long and should have evolved into a more complete player by now. We simply cannot afford for this young man to show this type of horrible all-around play at ANY point in this season, let alone in a game in which he should have picked his spots, and dropped at least 10 on the opponent. Geesh.
so henson played well huh?i was curious if he even had a basket yet this season.living in northeast virginia,i dont always get to see the games.
by the way,can anyone tell me when kansas actually plays a team thats relevent?
To me, it isn’t about laying a zillion points on an overmatched squad, it isn’t about “last year’s team,” it isn’t about how “bad” the opponent is. It is about where the Heels are in their development as a gaming force THIS YEAR.
And from what I see there are few issues with the O. The two questions starting the season were Drew and 3’s. Drew is no longer followed by a ?. The 3’s are sketchy, yes, and there will be games where we need them. But I see hope there.
There is a BIG lack of development with the D. Still.
That “defensive identity” that was supposed to evolve ain’t evolving. Call it the “Warm Butter Defense.” Dear Opponent: to go on a roll the Heels will provide the warm butter RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE, just where you want warm butter on your roll. Poor Presbyterian even exploited it! Really disappointing. While there is a whole lot to like about the blocks and D within 3 feet, the lane is the path of least resistance. A slasher’s dream. Su-weet, warm butter, right down the middle. February 10th is coming and everybody knows, especially this year, warm butter makes great Dookie. May that sentence be more disgusting than February’s results.
Development starts with D. I would like to see it in areas additional to the trapping press evident tonight.
Zoomba, Heels!