At present four Tar Heels are dealing with injuries.
On Justin Watts:
“Justin Watts, we didn’t play because he hurt his knee yesterday in practice. It’s still being evaluated. It appears that it’s only a bone bruise, but he was not going to play today and probably couldn’t play tomorrow or Monday, either, so we’ll just have to continue evaluating him.”
On Hansbrough:
“Tuesday will be a two-week mark for holding out Tyler, and the doctors will look at him and perhaps even take some more pictures, whether it be a MRI or whatever happens next. He’ll be evaluated and then we’ll make another announcement at that time what’s going to be next with him… We’ll make an announcement probably sometime on Wednesday.”
On Ginyard:
“Marcus appears to be on schedule, and again, we’re looking at the first part of December for him and nothing’s changed there.”
* Also, Deon Thompson’s left ankle was wrapped in ice during postgame interviews. He said he just rolled it during the game and indicated that he’s fine.
Jeff Goodman at Fox Sports spoke with Hansbrough's father, Gene, and he indicated they the soreness was gone but they were still being cautious:
Tyler Hansbrough is still in limbo.
According to his father, Gene, the National Player of the Year had X-rays on his shin yesterday and told his father that he "can't feel the sore spot anymore."
That's obviously good news for Hansbrough and the Tar Heels this season because the injury appears to be healing instead of turning into a more-serious stress fracture.
North Carolina's season-opener is one week from today at home against Penn. That appears highly unlikely since Hansbrough still hasn't returned to practice. It's also doubtful that we'll see a Patrick Patterson-Hansbrough matchup when Kentucky travels to Chapel Hill on Nov. 18. The Tar Heels will then travel to UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 21 before heading to the Maui Invitational - which begins in 16 days.
``I think Maui's going to be a big question mark," Gene Hansbrough said. ``The early games are nice games, but you've got to be thinking down the road."
This isn't the first time Hansbrough's been hurt; he broke his leg his freshman year of high school when he was undercut.
``He's like a caged tiger right now," Gene Hansbrough said. ``Rest is a hard thing for him to do because he doesn't see himself improving."
It sounds like Hansbrough is on track though you have to resist the temptation to jump back in and reaggravate the area. Roy indicated that Hansbrough has never taken more then three days off in a row...ever...the summer included. Being limited to free throws is driving Hansbrough nuts apparently. His father has the proper perspective on this however. November and December games are nice but winning the NCAA Tournament is the priority.