Another Day, Another Reason for Concern for North Carolina Coach Roy Williams

GLENDALE, Ariz. —Another day, another reason for concern for North Carolina coach Roy Williams.

Williams’ Tar Heels are the favorites to win the national championship, but their chances hinge on the health of starting point guard Joel Berry II. Berry, the team’s second leading scorer, missed Wednesday’s practice with two sprained ankles and only worked out in the half court in Thursday at the University of Phoenix Stadium here.

His delicate condition has left Williams worried about his availability for Saturday’s difficult national semi-final game against Oregon. “I can’t let him play on Saturday if he can’t do something full court because we do play full court,” Williams said. “If you can’t do anything up and down, then I can’t let him play.

Berry is doing all he can to make sure that is not the case. “I’m doing cupping, getting in the pool, anything you can think of when it comes to recovery,” he said. “It’s a lot and I get a little tired of it but I want to be able to get back out on the court so I will pretty much do whatever it takes. I have pretty much two sessions a day with the trainers.”

This isn’t the first time North Carolina has been faced with high drama regarding its point guard. In 2009, North Carolina star point guard Ty Lawson, who did not play in the ACC tournament and the first round of the NCAA tournament because of a toe injury, returned for a second round game against LSU and his courageous performance in the second half in helped lead the Tar Heels key victory and set the stage for a national championship. Three years later, in 2012, Kendall Marshall, who ranked second in the nation in assists that season, couldn’t play through the pain of a broken wrist, crushing top-seeded North Carolina’s title hopes when he broke his wrist in the second round of the tournament against Creighton. Tar Heel fans were hopeful Marshall would return for the regional in St. Louis the next week, but he never got off the bench.

Berry remembers watching each team, and the way each season ended. “Sometimes you put yourself aside and you think about other guys,” he said. “You play through the injuries. I’m very confident that even if I’m not 100 percent, I’m still playing because there are only two games left in the season and I’m not going to sit them out. The bruising has gone away and I can run on it now. I think when we get to Saturday, I’m going to be close to 100 percent. Even though I’m hurting, I just want to do whatever it takes to help my team out.

“Ty Lawson thought about his team first. … I remember all of that.”

Berry injured his right ankle in North Carolina’s first round victory over Texas Southern. He struggled in a win over Arkansas in a second round thriller, going 2- for- 13 and finishing with just 10 points. After four days off between games, Berry scored 26 points in a Sweet 16 game against Butler, but he sprained his other ankle against Kentucky and had to leave the court to receive treatment before returning to the game later in the first half. He played 33 minutes, most of them in pain.

Berry is averaging 14,6 points, 3.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 30.1 minutes this season. He is shooting 43.9 percent and 39.2 percent from the three. North Carolina is taking no chances. The Tar Heels flew out here early, on Tuesday night– to allow Berry’s ankle to recovering from the swelling following a long flight.