The good feeling brought about by the second-half comeback victory at
Virginia Tech was tempered the next day when North Carolina learned it
will be without starting guard Dexter Strickland for the rest of the
season.
Strickland injured a knee in the win and will have to
have surgery. He wasn't a big scorer for the Heels, but he shot well and
was considered a good defender, maybe the best on the perimeter.
The
Tar Heels, who improved to 16-3 overall and 3-1 in the ACC with the
Jan. 19 win over the Hokies, will have the opportunity to make the
necessary adjustments at home with games against North Carolina State
and Georgia Tech coming up at the Smith Center. Coach Roy Williams has
gone with the same starting lineup through the first 19 games.
Sophomore
Reggie Bullock figures to replace Strickland. He averaged just under 19
minutes an appearance in playing in all 19 games off the bench.
He
was scoring a point more a game than Strickland (8.4-7.5) and had a
team-high 34 three-point field goals, shooting 38.6 percent from behind
the arc.
NOTES, QUOTES
--It
will a bit ironic if sophomore G Reggie Bullock is the choice to take
over for the injured Dexter Strickland in the starting lineup.
Bullock's
freshman season was cut short when he injured his knee on Feb. 27,
2011, and had surgery on March 7. He averaged 6.1 points a game and
finished third on the team with 29 three-point field goals, though he
shot only 29.8 percent from behind the arc.
The other backcourt
backup who played in all of Carolina's first 19 games was freshman P.J.
Hairston. He averaged 7.5 points in just over 13 minutes a game.
--Junior F John Henson's five blocks against Virginia Tech gave him 60 for the season and 181 in his career.
His
chances of equaling or surpassing Brendan Haywood's school-record 120
likely will depend on how far the Tar Heels, who have 12 regular-season
games remaining, advance in the postseason.
With a minimum of
four games (two in the ACC and NCAA tournaments), Henson would have to
average nearly four a game to get to it. If the Heels get to the final
game of the ACC tourney and to the NCAA's Final Four, that would be cut
back to an average of three a game.
Haywood's career total was a
school record 304. Henson's chances of getting that mark appear to
depend on his decision whether to return for his senior season or enter
the NBA draft.
--Sophomore G Kendall Marshall assist-production
has dipped a bit against ACC opponents after he recorded 11 in the Tar
Heels' conference opener. He has had 20 in the three games since after
recording eight against Virginia Tech.
He has had 16 turnovers in the three games, including five against the Hokies.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I
tell guys that I've played poorly on the front nine sometimes, but that
doesn't mean you've got to play poorly on the back." -- Coach Roy
Williams, using a golf analogy after his Tar Heels overcame a five-point
halftime deficit on their way to a 14-point win at Virginia Tech.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
--vs. North Carolina State, Jan. 26
The
Wolfpack is still adjusting to life under first-year coach Mark
Gottfried but has some guys who can score. Five players are averaging in
double figures led by G Lorenzo Brown.
--vs. Georgia Tech, Jan. 29
KEY
MATCHUPS: Junior G Glen Rice Jr. will test Carolina's new backcourt
with his three-point shooting. Junior G Mofon Udofia also is an
experienced hand. The Tar Heels should have a big advantage up front
with Tyler Zeller and John Henson going against Tech's Kammeon Holsey
and Daniel Miller.
FUTURES MARKET
Finding
a replacement for injured starting G Dexter Strickland isn't the only
impact of his injury. The eight-man rotation Coach Roy Williams was
using now becomes seven with one proven option in the backcourt.
Sophomore Reggie Bullock and freshman P.J. Hairston were the only
backcourt reserves who had played in all of Carolina's first 19 games.
PLAYER NOTES
--Junior
G Dexter Strickland was averaging only 7.5 points a game but shooting
57 percent from the field and was tied for the team lead in steals (25)
when he was injured early in the second half of North Carolina's win at
Virginia Tech on Jan. 19. Though he walked off the floor under his own
power after the game, tests the next day revealed a torn anterior
cruciate ligament (ACL) that requires surgery.
--Sophomore F
Harrison Barnes boosted his average to a team-leading 17.4 points a game
with his season-high 27 points against Virginia Tech. His 46.3
three-point percentage (24-of-55) was the best on the team through
Carolina's first 19 games.
