UNC's Dexter Strickland Tears ACL; Out For Season

[Built Ford Tough]

I meant to post this while watching the game on Thursday and seeing him go down. I didn't know the severity of the injury, but I knew immediately that it was bad and could possibly have been a torn ACL or something serious like that. Looks like I was right.

 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina junior Dexter Strickland will miss the rest of the season after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament in Thursday's win at Virginia Tech.

 

Strickland was hurt when his knee buckled on a drive early in the second half. The school said Friday that Strickland's surgery to repair the injury hasn't been scheduled yet.

 

"Positive thinking!" Strickland posted on his Twitter account Friday night. "Everything happens for a reason, God always has a plan! Thanks to everyone who is praying for me! I appreciate it!"

 

The 6-foot-3 guard had started every game for the eighth-ranked Tar Heels, averaging about eight points and shooting a team-best 57 percent while thriving in transition. He was the team's top perimeter defender and doubled as the No. 2 ballhandler behind point guard Kendall Marshall.

 

The Tar Heels (16-3, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) are off until hosting rival North Carolina State on Thursday, leaving coach Roy Williams time to tweak the rotation. Sophomore Reggie Bullock or freshman P.J. Hairston are the most likely candidates to pick up minutes and are better perimeter shooters, though neither has Strickland's defense, ballhandling or speed in the open court.

 

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7485503/north-carolina-tar-heels-lose-dexter-strickland-season-due-torn-knee-ligament

 

Really sucks for UNC. They already lost Leslie McDonald to a torn ACL in the summer and now you lose your starting shooting guard and best perimeter defender? This is a serious blow to the Tar Heels. I like Bullock and Hairson't shooting ability, but neither one are going to be able to come even close to replacing Strickland's defensive ability. Harrison Barnes is going to have to really step up and become the Heels go to perimeter defender because I don't think that Bullock or Hairston are up to it and we know that Marshall isn't much of a defender.

[TheHutch]

Yeah this is a huge blow. Like you, I too like Bullock and Hairston, but they aren't the defensive players that Strickland was. Marshall will really have to step up too as Strickland was also the back-up PG.