By David Teel, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) –
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kendall Marshall’s voice cracked. P.J. Hairston stared at the floor. Stilman White felt “blindsided.” Tyler Zeller used the “s” word — rhymes with ducks.
Rarely has a winning locker room turned so somber so fast.
But when North Carolina coach Roy Williams excused the media so he could address his team Sunday night, you knew his news was grim.
Indeed, it was.
Marshall, the Tar Heels’ point guard and most indispensable player, fractured a small bone (scaphoid) in his right (non-shooting) wrist in the second half of an 87-73 NCAA tournament victory over Creighton. His status for Friday’s Midwest Regional semifinal against Ohio is unknown.
“I just want to be here for my team,” Marshall said, his voice halting, a large ice bag taped to his wrist.
Marshall was injured midway through the second half when fouled by Ethan Wragge on a drive to the basket. He remained in the game but knew something was amiss.
“I tried to get right up and play it off like nothing happened,” Marshall said.
The tingling in his elbow said otherwise.
“We’re not saying I’m not going to play,” Marshall said. “We’re not saying I’m going to play.”
Marshall was not among the three Tar Heels — Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes — to make first-team All-ACC. But as anyone associated with, or invested in, the program understands, he is the player North Carolina can least afford to lose.
Marshall is not only the Tar Heels’ quarterback but also their only true point guard. In 36 minutes Sunday, he was sublime with a team-high 18 points and 11 assists — his 351 dimes this season are an ACC record.
“It sucks,” Zeller said. “He’s the best point guard in the nation.”
“There’s really nothing you can say,” freshman guard Hairston said, his words barely audible.
When Dexter Strickland sustained a season-ending knee injury Jan. 19 at Virginia Tech, seldom-used Stilman White inherited back-up point guard duty. He appears serviceable only for brief stretches.
“It’s a little shocking,” White said. “Whatever the coaching staff asks me to do, I’m going to step up.”
Justin Watts, a reserve shooting guard, is another option.
“I’ve never been a point guard,” he said. “I’ve just brought the ball up a little bit. … We’ll wait and see what happens when we get back to Chapel Hill.”
The timing of Marshall’s injury was cruelly ironic, coming on the day Henson returned from a wrist injury that sidelined him for three games. Henson, a two-time ACC defensive player of the year, had 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Henson and his primary backup, freshman James Michael McAdoo, harassed All-American Doug McDermott into 8-of-19 shooting. McDermott entered the game shooting 61 percent.
“It was a little weaker than I wanted it to be,” Henson said of his wrist, “and I wasn’t as strong with the grip as I wanted.”
Otherwise, the 31-5 Tar Heels, the Midwest’s top seed, were assembly-line efficient against the physical and occasionally chippy Bluejays (29-6) — Henson drew a first-half technical for barking at Grant Gibbs, whom Henson believed had taken some “unnecessary” slaps at his taped wrist.
For only the second time this season, North Carolina shot 50 percent or better overall and from beyond the 3-point arc while committing fewer than 10 turnovers. Moreover, the Tar Heels limited Creighton, the national leader in field goal accuracy, to 41.2 percent shooting, 9 percent below the Bluejays’ norm.
“We’re very hard to beat in that case,” Zeller said before learning of Marshall’s injury.
With a healthy Marshall, and with 13th-seeded Ohio awaiting in the regional semifinals Friday in St. Louis, you could have Sharpied North Carolina into the Elite Eight — there the Tar Heels could face ACC neighbor North Carolina State, which advanced to the other Midwest semi with a victory over Georgetown on Sunday.
North Carolina still will be favored to dismiss the Mid-American Conference champions, but the Tar Heels have never played extended minutes without their choreographer.
“You just hate it for the kid,” Williams said.
“Kendall’s an intricate part of the team,” Henson said, “to say the least.”
The left-handed Marshall managed a wry smile and upbeat thought: “At least it’s my right wrist.”
