UNC Basketball: Will Stilman White's Role Grow with Dexter Strickland's Injury?

After losing junior shooting guard Dexter Strickland for the season with a torn ACL, Roy Williams is having to not only re-think his starting lineup, but also his substitution patterns.

Strickland logged most of his minutes at shooting guard, but occasionally slid over to the point to give sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall a breather.

Marshall is already playing a team-high 31.2 minutes per game. This injury could force him to stay on the court for an even larger portion of the Tar Heels' 2012 regular season games and beyond.

One option that Williams could be considering is increasing the role and minutes of freshman guard Stilman White.

While he has appeared in 15 of UNC's 19 games and up until this point, White (6'0" 160 lbs) is averaging only 4.3 minutes per game. In the Tar Heels four ACC games, he has only played nine total minutes.

At Wilmington (NC) Hoggard H.S., White was a first-team all-stater, whose ESPN.com recruiting profile said that he is a, "heady point guard who has been coached to run a team. Can knock down a jumper and get you into the offense. Like how he communicates and isn't a bad little athlete. Has a tremendous attitude and exudes confidence."

Yesterday, Williams said White "will get an opportunity to relieve Marshall at times."

North Carolina plays NC State on Thursday, January 24.