North Carolina
Lawson a question mark for Sunday's matchup with Duke
Mar 8, 2009
Chapel Hill, N.C. — North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson jammed his right big toe against a basket support Friday in practice, an injury that could keep him out of Sunday's Duke game and could linger further into March.
UNC spokesman Steve Kirschner, asked Saturday night if the injury could last into the ACC Tournament and beyond, said, "I would say it could be. You just don't know with this type of injury. It's like turf toe."
"Turf toe" is an injury often sustained by football players that can last for weeks and affect their ability to run. The injury is aggravating for athletes and difficult to resolve.
Kirschner said he has discussed the injury with UNC trainer Chris Hirth. While Carolina is hoping the injury heals in time for the game, there was no way to project that Saturday.
WRAL spotted Lawson on crutches after Friday's practice, but Kirschner said Lawson could walk Saturday without crutches. However, Lawson did not practice Saturday.
Kirschner said the injury is to Lawson's right big toe, not his left.
Asked to describe how the injury happened, Kirschner said, "He was running downcourt during a play. He was running too fast, and he crashed into the basket support and jammed his foot into the basket support."
X-rays showed no fracture, and the team is hoping Lawson will play. Kirschner said he did not know when coach Roy Williams would make a decision. If Lawson doesn't play, Bobby Frasor likely would start at point guard, with freshman Larry Drew as his backup.
Lawson had a sprained ankle and did not play last year when Duke beat Carolina 89-78 on Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill. Quentin Thomas started at point guard for UNC.
The ACC Tournament begins Thursday in Atlanta, and the NCAA pairings are announced next Sunday.
Meanwhile, Duke said forward Lance Thomas is probable after practicing Saturday despite a sprained left ankle sustained while playing Florida State. Point guard Nolan Smith will miss his third straight game as he recovers from a concussion.
The Tar Heels can win the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title outright with a victory, while the Blue Devils can earn a share of it with a win.
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Most Recent Comments
RE: Lawson a question mark for Sunday's matchup with Duke
"WOW...simply said
I love how the unc fans can step in and say what da' frig ever and it is OK...what a joke"
LetsGoDuke - are you serious? You've read through this entire thread and the only thing you're offended by is talking about Williams moonwalking? I knew Dook fans were dumb Yankees, but come on...
- Posted by UNC81
I love it! Getting into the head of small-minded people like LGD is so easy. It's like taking candy from a baby.
RE: Lawson a question mark for Sunday's matchup with Duke
Duke has injuries too, what a dumb statment. Are the injuries to Henderson, Schyer? We had injuries also to Zeller, Ginyard. They are not as the same as and injury to Lawson. Just the same if Mami had an injury to McClinton, or Maryland to Vasquez, or BC to Rice. Thomas is averaging 5 pts. per game, and is going to play, Smith 8.5 pts per game. So, really the only injury you have is to two reserve players, not to a significant player like Lawson. Henderson's foul on Hansbrough is proof of what your coach is teaching his players. He has demonstrated the same type of behavior and so has his coaches. His yelling at other team players, a policy that any coach know is wrong, his cursing at other coaches, his assistant coaches threatening other coaches, just shows what kind of person he is. So, maybe you as a fan don't agree with that type of behavior,or that it's wrong to injure a player, then maybe you should get your coach to think that way.
RE: Lawson a question mark for Sunday's matchup with Duke
I think the only reason Duke can't be competitive in the tournament is because K has a thing against big men. He can't (won't?) recruit the good ones, and definitely can't prepare them for the NBA. Zube is a body in there that makes them competitive, but Duke really needs a GOOD big man.
RE: Lawson a question mark for Sunday's matchup with Duke
Bottom line is Duke will NEVER win another NCAA tournament. Not in my life time. Until Coach K quits his crying about every call and learns to COACH his players instead of the refs, Duke will amount to nothing better than a top 15 team at best.
RE: Lawson a question mark for Sunday's matchup with Duke
"Duke wants injuries on the other team, so they can have the advantage. Then they can walk away and brag about how they won. Coach k teaches that, and lives it."..haha, probably the dumbest post of the day, especially considering Duke has injuries as well.
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