Getting hurt really didn't hurt No. 1 seed Tar Heels at all
Not all injuries are lucky injuries. Not many of them, in fact. But for No. 1 seed North Carolina, Ty Lawson's sprained ankle is inching closer and closer to "lucky" territory.
With Lawson, the Tar Heels were clearly the best team in college basketball during the regular season. They entered the ACC tournament with a 23-1 record in games started by Lawson, a point guard who averages 12.9 points and 5.5 assists per game.
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| Ty Lawson's absence made the Heels more prepared for a deep NCAA run. (Getty Images) |
In other words, Lawson went down and the Tar Heels were immediately susceptible. They had no backup point guard, at least none who made them comfortable. Junior Bobby Frasor had suffered his own season-ending injury in late December, and senior Quentin Thomas had been an erratic disappointment for most of his career. Thomas had scored just 14 points all season as a junior, and as a senior he had played no more than 13 minutes in any game -- even after Frasor and his 16.3 minutes per game were left on the bench.
But Lawson went down, and North Carolina had no other choice. Quentin Thomas was the point guard.
Six weeks later, the Tar Heels are no longer susceptible. Lawson is no longer injured. And Thomas is no longer an erratic disappointment. He is a quality option off the bench entering the NCAA tournament, which means the Tar Heels should be able to cope if Lawson needs a rest, gets into foul trouble or, heaven forbid, gets injured again.
Not that it was easy, getting from there to here. Thomas struggled against Duke and Clemson, averaging 5.5 turnovers in those two games. He wasn't a whole lot better in the 75-74 victory against Virginia. But then he began playing well, and the Tar Heels followed suit. Thomas averaged 7.3 points, 7.0 assists and just 2.7 turnovers in the next three games, and North Carolina blew out Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
Lawson returned March 1 for the last three games of the regular season, and with the All-American candidate being eased back into the rotation alongside Thomas, the UNC blowouts continued: victories over Boston College, Florida State and at Duke.
The Tar Heels now have something they didn't have even in 2005 when they won the program's latest national championship: a quality backup at point guard. Back then, the understudy to Raymond Felton was a freshman named (ahem) Quentin Thomas, but this is a much-improved Quentin Thomas, and this is a deeper UNC team. The Tar Heels have two point guards, an abundance of wings and depth at power forward.
About the only thing the Tar Heels lack is an intimidating post presence in the event something should happen to All-American center Tyler Hansbrough.
Forget I said anything.
