Kendall Marshall Injury Update: Expect Point Guard to Be Bench-Bound vs. Bobcats
The No. 1 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels are going to need a small miracle for point guard Kendall Marshall to play on Friday at this point.
After breaking his right wrist against Creighton on Sunday, he underwent surgery on Monday and has been listed as “game-time decision” all week as a screw was inserted. He was given a cast right after and then switched to a splint on Wednesday that is removable.
Brian Lewis of the New York Post was able to find out some information on his progress:
"UNC's Tyler Zeller said Kendall Marshall did light dummy work today, his status vs Ohio won't be known until shootaround #Marchmadness #NCAA
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) March 22, 2012"
This is not an encouraging tweet. “Dummy work” likely means non-contact drills, or walkthroughs on the No. 13 seeded Ohio Bobcats. He isn’t testing out the wrist and that’s not a good sign.
Neither is coach Roy Williams' answer to the question of if Marshall will play (via Lewis):
"UNC's Roy Williams on Kendall Marshall: "I dont know. I have a strong, strong inclination that he's not going to play." #NCAA #MarchMadness
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) March 22, 2012"
This has essentially been the stance of Williams all week and it’s easy to see why.
Despite breaking his non-shooting hand and still playing over seven minutes with the injury, having the surgery changes everything. Williams went on to say there was one scenario in which he could see Marshall playing on Friday night (via ESPN):
"If he comes in to my room tomorrow and says, 'My wrist feels great,' and he drops down to the floor and does 10 right handed pushups on his right hand, then I'll say I'll probably play his rear end. I don't expect that to happen. I mean, the guy can't brush his teeth right now.
"
The last line is the most telling.
If Marshall can’t even hold a toothbrush, there is no way he can guard the Bobcats’ best player DJ Cooper.
Playing an Ohio team that is the biggest Cinderella in the entire tournament, the urgency isn’t there like it would be in the next round if they play No. 2 Kansas.
The Tar Heels will certainly struggle without their floor leader, but if they plan on advancing to the championship, they’ll need a somewhat healthy Marshall at some point and resting him now could pay big dividends later.
Expect Marshall to stay on the bench Friday night.
