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North Carolina

Concrete status on Lawson return yet to come

Ty Lawson watches warm ups before the UNC vs. Radford round one game of the NCAA tournament in Greensboro, Thursday, March 19, 2009. Photo by Todd Melet

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Mar 20, 2009

You wouldn't think an injury to a toe could carry on this long.  But the big toe is a vital tool for a player as fast as Ty Lawson when it comes to cutting, stopping and jumping.

It has been 12 days and three games since Lawson last played a game, and the words surrounding his status for Saturday's date with LSU remained ambiguous.

After Thursday's first round victory over Radford words like "hopefully," "might," "think" and "probably" were used by the junior point guard. 

But he did speak somewhat more concretely when asked if he thought he could have played in the opening round.

"I think so. I mean, I didn't run full speed on it but it's not pain anymore when I'm running -  it's just stiffness," Lawson said.  "I'm ready to play."

However ready to play Lawson said he was after the Radford win, his playing status will likely depend on his practice performance Friday afternoon.  Even after that it will come down to a coach's decision.

Something more definitive could come after Friday's practice sessions at Greensboro Coliseum.  WRAL Sports and 99.9 The Fan will bring you the latest on his status.

Most Recent Comments

By Heels76
Posted Mar 20, 3:20 p.m.

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Location: Wendell, NC

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RE: Concrete status on Lawson return yet to come

Who knows.

By aroundthehorn
Posted Mar 20, 3:02 p.m.

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RE: Concrete status on Lawson return yet to come

Does anyone else sense that there's a little clash/disagreement between Roy and Lawson on the toe situation? Almost seems like Lawson came out and said he would have better off not playing in the Duke game, but he was "forced" to play.

By jamesm1110
Posted Mar 20, 1:26 p.m.

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RE: Concrete status on Lawson return yet to come

haha riddickfield..

i love all the "toe jokes".

By Riddickfield
Posted Mar 20, 1:09 p.m.

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Location: Fuquay-Varina, NC

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RE: Concrete status on Lawson return yet to come

Sounds like the other guys are going to have to man up and 'toe' the line.

By tarheelbasketballfan
Posted Mar 20, 12:51 p.m.

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RE: Concrete status on Lawson return yet to come

UNC should be able to beat LSU without Lawson. He is being replaced with a McDonalds All-American in Bobby. The heels win, just with more half court sets. LSU has a very good big man; but UNC has one also, along with 2 reserves. Not an issue.
I have to agree with you, they can win without lawson. I think it maybe bettwr to actually know his status so they can prepare properly. There attack is different without lawson, so, I think it's better to know ahead of time if he is going to pley. Actually, Bobby maybe a better defender than Lawson.