North Carolina Basketball: After Insult and Injury, Where to from Here?

When Dexter Strickland writhed in pain on the court, it was immediately known that something bad had happened, and that North Carolina's postseason hopes took a hit. How big of a hit wasn't known until the full extent of the damage was announced. 

Out for the rest of the season means that UNC has to go the final two months without their best perimeter defender and arguably their fastest end-to-end player. The 7.5 points per game will be replaced, as will the 2.1 rebounds per game, but it's the other parts of Strickland's game that are going to be much more difficult to replace. 

Working as the occasional backup point guard for Kendall Marshall wasn't a big attention-drawing act since it was only done a few minutes per game, but now that the option is no longer there, there has to be a legitimate concern about the flow of UNC's offensive game, where there could be several-minute stretches in the first and second half with Stilman White, a decent but unproven backup, trying to run the Tar Heels' fast-paced game. 

There is Strickland's ability to put pressure on an opponent's perimeter shooters, which is going to be sorely missed. Reggie Bullock has, at times, been a decent defender, but he's nowhere near the specialist level that Strickland is at. 

That Strickland's injury came in a win does not disguise how badly he is needed on the court, and it will become more evident as the season wears on. The insulting loss to Florida State should be a one-off occurrence, but it was never supposed to happen to begin with.

Florida State was a legitimate threat going into that game, but no one could have imagined that they would utterly decimate the Heels, bloodying their noses in a way that hadn't been done since Kansas routed UNC in the first half of the 2008 Final Four. 

The bounce back against Virginia Tech was, however, expected. Victory was not going to be denied after taking such a crushing loss in the prior game. The injury of Strickland in the closing minutes put a damper on the proverbial fist pump, and it drew attention away from the overall result and focused it instead on the rest of the season. The big question is simple: What's next?

The obvious answer is that the rest of the season is next. Duke and NC State are next, March Madness is next. There's a lot of games left to play without the fastest player and best outside defender, and while UNC will continue to win without Strickland in the lineup, there's going to be a lot more difficulty down the road that comes from not having him as an option. Questions of UNC's depth has been raised in the recent past, specifically on what would happen if Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston were all having an off-night at once.

It happened against Florida State, and the result was ugly. Now the question has to be raised about how UNC will respond without Strickland's intangible influences. Will Reggie Bullock rise to the occasion as a starter? Can Stilman White show himself to be an effective player when the heat is on? Who will step up to try to fill Strickland's defensive shoes?

There will not be another loss like Florida State this season, but there may be a couple more bumps in the road while Roy Williams and company try to figure out the answers to those questions.