On Sunday afternoon, a fracture in Kendall Marshall’s wrist seemed to mean fractured hopes of an NCAA title coming to Chapel Hill.
Oh, the magic of science.
Marshall under went a 30-minute procedure on Monday to fix the injury and, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com, Marshall’s father, Dennis, is optimistic that his son will play on Friday against 13th-seeded Ohio in the Sweet 16.
UNC coach Roy Williams said Monday that he’ll assess Marshall’s status “later in the week.”
A tremendous passer and the engine behind the North Carolina offensive attack, Marshall went down in the second half of the Tar Heels’ Sunday evening win over Creighton, landing awkwardly after a foul from Bluejay guard Ethan Wragge.
The injury was the next in a line of setbacks for North Carolina this season, having already lost guards Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald to season-ending knee injuries. Forward John Henson returned against Creighton after missing time with a wrist injury.
The timing of Marshall’s wrist injury is unfortunate, as the sophomore was beginning to find his scoring touch. He had scoring in double figures in each of his last six games, including 18 points against Creighton.
He is already a Top 5 point guard in the country, having averaged nearly eight points and 10 assists per game this season. The Virginia native is projected to be a first round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, if he declares.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_