Joel Huerto is managing editor of One Man Fastbreak.net and a sports consultant with Opposing Views.com. He has been a member of the sports media for almost 20 years, which included nine years as a news editor at the Los Angeles Times. He will cover a variety of topics, from coach and player profiles to hot-button issues. Joel is also known as "maniLA ice" for his cool demeanor in the friendly confines of the YMCA hardwood. He loves to shoot the "tear drop" and prefers to play zone to hide his deficiencies on defense.
Injuries to prominent point guards on tournament teams resemble a weekly NFL report: Connecticut's Jerome Dyson, knee, out for the season; Marquette's Dominic James, foot, out for the season; Pittsburgh's Levance Fields, groin, probable; UCLA's Darren Collison, tailbone, probable; and North Carolina's Ty Lawson, toe, questionable.
Last year, Lawson nursed an injured ankle that might have contributed to his subpar play during the Final Four. This year, Tar Heel Nation is worried about his right big toe.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams told reporters that his 5-foot-11 starting point guard is unlikely to play in the Tar Heels' first-round game against Radford on Friday. Not having the ACC Player of the Year against Radford probably won't hurt the Tar Heels too much, but there's a big question mark about his health and availability in the later rounds.
"He is not able to do the things that I want him to do in practice, so something would have to change drastically before I would change my mind on that," Williams said.
Lawson badly stubbed his toe in practice two weeks ago and sat out the ACC tournament. The last time he saw game action was in the regular-season finale against Duke on March 8, where he scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out nine assists despite being limited by the injury.
"I can go up and down, it's just hard to cut," Lawson said. "I could play through it. It's not as bad as it was before the Duke game. It's just a little bit of pain. It's hard pushing off of it and playing defense."
Lawson's toe has gotten so much attention the past week that even President Barack Obama weighed in on the matter. The President is banking on North Carolina to win the tournament.
"Here's what I like about Carolina: experience and balance," Obama told the Worldwide Leader's Andy Katz. "Now, for all the Tar Heels who are watching, I picked you last year — you let me down. This year, don't embarrass me in front of the nation, all right? I'm counting on you."
UCLA players acknowledged that Collison was playing in a lot of pain during the Pac-10 tournament because of a bruised tailbone. Even coach Ben Howland said having Collison play two straight days with the injury took its toll, although Collison refused to say that was the reason he scored four points, shot 1-for-9 from the field and turned the ball over seven times in the loss to USC in the semifinals.
“It’s nothing like how it felt when we played USC. I feel a lot better," Collison told the Orange County Register last Sunday. "The whole thing on the defensive end starts with me. As long as I put pressure on the ball like I’m supposed to do, everything else will work itself out. That’s why I’ve got to be healthy.”
Pittsburgh's Final Four aspirations rests on the sore groin of point guard Fields, who practiced for the first time in almost two weeks. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon says Fields looks "pretty good" and seemed to be moving well.
Fields was bothered by the injury during the Panthers' final regular season game against Connecticut on March 7 and their Big East tournament loss to West Virginia on March 12, but did not sit out either game. He was held out of practice to prevent the injury from becoming worse.
The Panthers open play at the NCAA tournament on Friday against East Tennessee State.
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