North Carolina announced on Friday that freshman forward Theo Pinson has indeed suffered a broken left foot against Wake Forest and is out indefinitely.
Pinson broke the fifth metatarsal bone when teammate Joel James accidentally stepped on his right foot while pivoting during the No. 15 Tar Heel’s 97-71 win on Wednesday night. The fracture was actually a re-fracture of an injury Pinson suffered while still in high school. The injury usually takes around six weeks to heal, putting his possible return to early March just as conference tournaments are beginning.
“It’s not a very comfortable position for us because we feel like we’re down quite a few personnel-wise anyway.” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “And I think he was starting to come around.”
Pinson was averaging 3.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and had a team-best assist-to-turnover ratio with 36 assists and only 16 turnovers while appearing in every game this season.
The injury is yet another setback to a North Carolina team that is already dealing with several other injuries this season, especially in regards to their backcourt. The Tar Heels were already without freshman point guard Joel Berry, who re-aggravated a previous groin injury before last week’s 81-79 win at N.C. State. Sophomore guard Stilman White is out for a month with a stress reaction in his right foot and reserve guard Luke Davis is out indefinitely after breaking his right foot before the season began. Junior guard Marcus Paige, who hasn’t participated full contact in practice since early in the season, has been dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot since December. Sophomore guard Nate Britt remains a gametime decision after receiving 15 stitches in his lip after a collision during the win over Wake Forest.
The loss of healthy bodies has had a profound effect on William’s practices.
Seven players did not dress out for Friday’s practice, forcing Williams to resort to calling up Spenser Dalton, a guard from the Tar Heels’ junior varsity team, just to have enough players for a full practice.
“Most bizarre I’ve ever had it,” Williams said. “It wasn’t much of a practice [Thursday], in fact it was no practice, we watched tape again and a little shooting. That was it.”
The Tar Heels were considered very deep in the backcourt before the season began, but now find themselves almost completely thinned out.
Junior J.P. Tokoto and freshman Justin Jackson remain as North Carolina’s only healthy guards to carry the load for the rest of conference play. Tokoto is averaging 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. Jackson’s play was very encouraging last week as he averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the Tar Heels’ two wins.
North Carolina, who are in the midst of a four-game winning streak, host Florida State on Saturday.
