Lawson on his toe injury: 'Playing the Duke game made it 100 times worse'
Mar 19, 2009
Tags: ACC
Many have pinned the Tar Heels' hopes of winning a national championship on one big toe of Ty Lawson, and the speedy North Carolina point guard says it might not even be an issue anymore if he hadn't suited up against the Blue Devils.
Looking back on it, Lawson said, "I probably would have sat out that game because I'd probably be 100 percent now. It was getting better and it got 100 times worse after I played Duke."
North Carolina played Duke in the final game of the regular season with the regular season conference title on the line, and Lawson's 13 points, eight rebounds and nine assists were a huge reason why Roy Williams' team was able to walk off the court on Senior Day in Chapel Hill with a win.
But, the swelling after that game and the 5-foot-11 guard's subsequent slower-than-expected recovery have his availability in doubt for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
"There is a huge probability that Ty [Lawson] will not play tomorrow. He is not able to do the things that I want him to do in practice, so some things would have to change drastically before I would change my mind on that," UNC coach Roy Williams told the media on Wednesday.
The Heels are likely going to be extra cautious with Lawson's toe this time around because another setback could mean the team's offensive catalyst would have to miss games in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, contests that would be much harder to win without Lawson than their opening round game against Radford.
