North Carolina awaits word on Dexter Strickland’s knee

January 20, 2012   ·   0 Comments

North Carolina awaits word on Dexter Strickland’s knee

For all the handwringing surrounding North Carolina’s 33-point shellacking at Florida State on Saturday, it may be the Tar Heels’ bounce-back win at Virginia Tech on Thursday night that turns out to be more costly.

Oh sure, North Carolina rallied from a five-point halftime deficit against the Hokies to ease their way to an 82-68 win. In the midst of that surge, however, the Tar Heels lost starting guard Dexter Strickland to a right knee injury.

Strickland writhed on the ground in pain holding the back of his right knee after it seemed to buckle as he planted going up for a shot in transition a little over three minutes into the second half. The extent of the injury is unknown but the junior guard will be reevaluated by team doctors Friday.

“I’m not sure anything popped, but I did come down pretty awkward,” Strickland told ESPN.com. “It hurt. It’s a little sore right now, but the doctors will take a look when we get back to the school, and see how it looks.”

An extended absence for Strickland would be a blow to North Carolina’s hopes of winning the ACC, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and capturing Roy Williams’ third national championship. In addition to averaging 7.5 points and 2.1 assists, Strickland is the Tar Heels premier perimeter defender and he’s the only player in the rotation who can spell starter Kendall Marshall at point guard.

If the injury forces Strickland to miss games, that would likely open up more playing time for sophomore Reggie Bullock or freshman P.J. Hairston. Both are better perimeter shooters than Strickland but they’re not as effective defensively.

Strickland, who suffered a serious left knee injury in high school, said the fear of serious injury made the pain initially hurt more. He was more optimistic with reporters after the game and when he logged onto Twitter around 1 a.m. EST.

Wrote Strickland, “Just want to thank everyone for praying for me..I really appreciate it! I’ll be ok!”

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