Having already lost reserve point guard Joel Berry II to a groin injury, North Carolina will be down another freshman when they host Florida State Saturday afternoon.
Friday it was announced by the school that forward/guard Theo Pinson is out indefinitely after breaking the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. Pinson suffered the injury in the first half of the Tar Heels’ win at Wake Forest Wednesday night.
Freshman Theo Pinson has a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot and is out indefinitely.
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 23, 2015
Through 19 games Pinson is averaging 3.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game for North Carolina, which is ranked 15th nationally with a 15-4 overall record (5-1 ACC). The Tar Heels have won four straight games, and without Pinson it’s likely that starters J.P. Tokoto and Justin Jackson will combine to absorb the majority of the minutes that would have gone to Pinson.
After getting off to a slow start to ACC play Jackson, who like Pinson is a freshman, has played well for the Tar Heels in their last two games. In wins over Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, Jackson averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. While neither the Hokies nor the Demon Deacons are contenders in the ACC, that two-game stretch could serve as a spark for Jackson as the Tar Heels approach a stretch (following Saturday’s game) in which they’ll play four of six games on the road.
Included in that portion of the schedule are games against No. 10 Louisville (January 31 on the road), No. 2 Virginia (February 2 at home) and No. 5 Duke (February 18 on the road).