Harrison Barnes Injures Ankle; Leaves Arena on Crutches

[Built Ford Tough]

Harrison Barnes left Orleans Arena on crutches following North Carolina's 90-80 loss to UNLV.

 

Barnes rolled his right ankle late in the first half. He came out of the game for several minutes before eventually returning to the game.

 

A team spokesman said the crutches were a precautionary measure.

 

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/216780/Barnes_Leaves_Arena_On_Crutches#ixzz1etIAw9pw

 

As a Harrison Barnes fan, it would really suck if he misses any sort of significant time since this year is critical not only for his draft stock, but his chances of winning an NCAA Championship, which I know is very important to him.

 

As a Toronto Raptors fan, it may actually be better off is he does miss some time. If he misses a large amount of time, say a month or two with a high ankle sprain or something like that, it may hurt his draft stock and instead of being a likely top 3 pick, he may fall to the 5-7 range. I have full confidence that the Raptors will be a bottom 3 team this year, but who knows how the ping pong balls will fall. If he falls to the 5-7 range, it is basically a guarantee that he will end up as a Raptor, which I would absolutely love.

[Real Deal]

He's okay. By the way he was moving around in the second half, it's nothing that will keep him out of action for a while, and I doubt he misses a game (their next two are against ranked opponents, the one on December 3rd is against Kentucky).

 

I can't say that it was the reason UNC lost, though (unlike a few UNC fans I'm having to talk with on Facebook). Barnes missed two crucial free throws late in the game, and he wasn't playing well in the first place, before the injury. UNLV was only down by about four or so at the half, and you had an itch that they were ready to go on a run to start the second half. The momentum from the crowd carried that small scoring spurt, and they pulled ahead by eight, IIRC, before UNC scored a basket.

[Built Ford Tough]

I didn't watch the game (as I mentioned in the game thread) so I can't comment on anything real specific.

 

However, you never know. Even if he did come back and play, it doesn't necessarily mean that he won't miss any time. I know back in my high school playing days that I had come down on somebody elses foot and rolled my ankle. I played through it after sitting out for a couple of minutes and it felt alright, not great but certainly playable. The next day I could barely walk and had to go see the doctor. I ended up missing about 2-3 weeks and was on crutchs for about a week.

 

I doubt he misses much, if any, time as from what I have read it doesn't sound all that bad. Tomorrow will make things clearer, though, as these kinds of injuries are always easier to diagnose the next day.

 

I certainly hope he doesn't miss the Kentucky game. Watching him and Kidd-Gilchrist going at it is going to be awesome.

[Built Ford Tough]

He is off crutches now.

 

LAS VEGAS -- North Carolina leading scorer Harrison Barnes was no longer on crutches when the team left here to fly home Sunday morning to Chapel Hill, a team spokesman said in a text message.

 

The sophomore forward rolled his right ankle late in the first half while scrambling on the sideline for a loose ball during UNC's 90-80 loss to UNLV in the Las Vegas Invitational title game. He immediately flashed the tired signal and went to the bench. Although he waved off the trainer, he had a towel over his head for several minutes, before eventually returning to the game.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/north-carolina-basketball/post/_/id/1286/harrison-barnes-no-longer-on-crutches

[Real Deal]

He's good. I think he knows just how big these next two games are, and while Henson and Keller are huge for UNC, he's their savior.

[Built Ford Tough]

He's good. I think he knows just how big these next two games are, and while Henson and Keller are huge for UNC, he's their savior.

 

I think that Marshall is more important to UNC than Henson or Zeller. They are both critical pieces and would not be nearly the same team without them as they are with them, but it isn't a coincidence that their turnaround last season started when they put Marshall into the lineup and cut ties with the cancer that was Drew.

 

Marshall just opens everything up for the rest of the team because of how effective he is as a playmaker. There isn't a point guard in college basketball that has the vision or passing ability that he has and it leads to so many easy baskets for the rest of the team. Even though he is a borderline liability when it comes to scoring (averaging like 5 points on 36% shooting) you have absolutely no problem with having him on the court because of how much offense he creates for the rest of the team.

 

I agree that Barnes is the most important piece, that is obvious, but I think Marshall is the 2nd most important player. That isn't to say he is the 2nd best player on the team, but in terms of importance, I think it is safe to say he is ahead of at least Zeller, perhaps Henson as well.

[Built Ford Tough]

Latest update is that he is expected to play tomorrow against Wisconsin in the Big 10/ACC challenge.

 

Earlier this morning there was a rumor going around that he wouldn't play, but during the Duke/OSU game they said that he is expected to play.