The Cure, an alternative rock band from the 1980s and 90s had a song called "Never Enough," in which lead singer Robert Smith tossed out a smattering of ideas by regularly concluding none of them sufficed.
Apparently, the bizarre front man wanted more.
If there's a theme to the mood along Tobacco Road right now perhaps, the flaky British band's tune should air in the background, because Tar Heel Nation simply can't get enough information on point guard Kendall Marshall's status. And like in the song, it's truly unending.
The North Carolina sophomore fractured the scaphoid bone in his right wrist when crashing to the ground following a foul in UNC's victory over Creighton in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
The immediate fear among the Tar Heels, Marshall, Carolina coach Roy Williams and their legion of baby blue fans was that Marshall would miss the rest of the big dance, crushing Carolina's hopes of winning another national championship.
UNC lost starting two guard Dexter Strickland, who was also Marshall's primary backup, for the season in January, and other than seldom-used freshman Stilman White, there isn't another player on North Carolina's roster that is remotely close to being a point guard.
So as word broke late Sunday night that with some good fortune Marshall might be able to play again in the tournament if the Tar Heels could figure out a way to advance without him, fans pounced on the news with optimism but some trepidation. The culprit of the news: Dennis Marshall, the player's father, who posted his thoughts on his Facebook and Twitter pages.
The desire to be close, connected and have the best understanding of what may happen with Marshall reached a frenzied rate within hours after UNC's victory and continues to intensify two days later.
"I call it Information Desperation," said Dave Glenn, host of the statewide "Dave Glenn Show" in North Carolina. "The passion for these basketball programs here in North Carolina is so intense that the fan bases basically reach a state of hysteria whenever there is an important development that's unfolding behind the scenes.
"They love to debate and dissect the games and other things they can see with their eyes, and that often gets emotional, but whenever there are hidden elements – as with a coaching search, or an important injury situation – the speculation and conversation typically get cranked up about 10 notches."
Marshall's surgery Monday morning was a success, and was also public knowledge for a few hours before the school released anything because of social media and the unbridled thirst for new information regarding the ACC's all-time single-season assists record holder.
The message board for the Scout website InsideCarolina.com was inundated by message board threads regarding Marshall beginning Sunday night. Sports writers were emailed questions, radio talk shows were flooded with "what if" scenarios, with hosts fielding calls from listeners who claimed to have experienced a similar injury as Marshall.
"Just in one day on my three-hour radio show, we had calls and emails from a farmer, a truck driver, a furniture mover, a competitive motorcycle driver, a baseball pitcher, an orthopedic surgeon, an athletic trainer and a hand specialist," Glenn said. "They all agreed that the injury is unique, but they wanted to share either their expertise or their personal experiences.''
The hysteria and demand for anything new about Marshall and examples that could soothe the fears of Carolina fans prompted central North Carolina's largest sports radio station, FM 99.9 The Fan, to playfully dub the mood, "Wrist Watch 2012."
As of 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, InsideCarolina.com had 29 different threads on its premium basketball front page alone regarding Marshall and the circumstances surrounding his situation. By noon on Tuesday there were 31 such threads, again, just on the front page of the premium hoops site. One thread simply posts every tweet by Marshall's father. Another posts every tweet by the player himself.
Most Tar Heels fans probably had no idea what or where the scaphoid bone was as of Sunday afternoon, but they sure know now, and likely will never forget.
Some fans said they cried when they learned about Marshall's injury. Some have said they can't sleep. Others say they can't concentrate on their jobs.
At his news conference Tuesday, UNC coach Roy Williams said, "I'm all about Marshall updates, but it's bordering on stalking,"
Fans are optimistic that White and versatile forward Justin Watts can get the job done in UNC's Sweet 16 game against 13-seed Ohio University, but nearly to a man, woman and child, they aren't too confident the top-seeded Heels can get past either No. 2 Kansas or No. 11 and hated rival N.C. State in the regional final next Sunday.
So expect the "Wrist Watch 2012" to continue not just until Marshall plays again, but until he plays at 100 percent.
