When Armando Bacot twisted his ankle late in Saturday night’s national semifinal against the Duke Blue Devils, he had to be helped off the Superdome floor. As 70,000 in attendance held their breath and all of Franklin Street said a Hail Mary, Bacot himself feared the worst.
“At that moment, I was just freaking the hell out,” he said after the game Saturday. “I didn’t know what was wrong with my ankle, and it was just not a good feeling at all.
“I thought 100 percent I was out for the game,” he went on. “And then something hit me like, ‘I’m playing in the greatest college basketball game of all time.’ There was no chance I was sitting out. I just had to thug it out.”
Bacot briefly returned to the game before fouling out late, and UNC head coach Hubert Davis confirmed the junior would play Monday night against Kansas in the championship, “even if he just stands there.”
Sunday afternoon in a press conference at the Superdome, Davis gave the update Carolina fans were hoping for.
“He’s going to practice today. But our practice is going to be very limited,” Davis said. “They did X-rays and they were all negative. Obviously he’s a little sore. But he was walking around and feeling good and was very encouraged with the amount of swelling from his ankle sprain. And he’s ready to play tomorrow night.”
Bacot will take on another challenging matchup in the post, moving from Duke’s seven-foot center Mark Williams onto Kansas’ bruising David McCormack. McCormack dominated Villanova on Saturday, to the tune of 25 points on 10-12 shooting. Davis praised McCormack, calling him “unbelievable.”
“It could ultimately come down to the winner of that matchup being the determining factor of who wins the championship,” he said.
In the 48-hour turnaround between the national semifinals and the national championship, Bacot’s tender ankle hasn’t had much time to rest. Between checkups, schoolwork and exercise, Bacot has been one of the busiest men in New Orleans.
“I really haven’t had a chance to have a break,” he said. “Right after the game I got X-rays, then I worked on it for about two hours last night, then this morning I woke up and got in the pool.”
Bacot acknowledged wearing a compression sleeve on his leg to temper any swelling, but he didn’t let the injury dampen his usual confidence.
“I feel like I’m the best big in the country,” he said. “If you look at me matching up with all the bigs, just about every big except for maybe [Purdue’s] Zach Edey I’ve gotten the best of. That’s a big guy, though.”
Edey stands at seven feet, four inches. A big guy, indeed.
McCormack stands at six feet, ten inches, the same listed height as Bacot, though his athleticism down low could challenge UNC’s hobbled big man. Bacot pointed to a lack of lift off his injured ankle as a primary reason for getting his shots blocked or altered late in the game against Duke. Monday night against Kansas may not be his most efficient offensive game ever, but Bacot said his mere presence on the floor is of critical importance.
“We don’t have any other big men, so if I don’t play, who knows what McCormack may do?” Bacot said. “If I’ve gotta go out there and just get a few rebounds and wall up and foul a few times or do whatever, that’s what I’ll do. But we don’t have another big man, so I ain’t got a choice.”
To Bacot’s point, no other active Tar Heel stands above six feet, nine inches. When Bacot exited with his injury on Saturday, it was sophomore wing Puff Johnson who stepped in to replace him. Johnson stands two inches shorter than Bacot and weighs 50 pounds lighter. The substitution worked in a pinch, but likely isn’t Hubert Davis’ most desirable long-term option against the Jayhawks.
Senior wing Leaky Black, whose foot inadvertently caused Bacot’s injury, chuckled when told of the big man’s determination to suit up.
“I feel like once Mando gets out there, it’s the national championship, he’s got all these people out there — he’s gonna step up,” Black said. “If he came back into the game right after that, as bad as it looked, I feel like he’ll be OK.”
Bacot’s participation in Monday night’s championship game would just be one more show of toughness from a shorthanded Carolina team, the starting unit of which has taken on the nickname “The Iron Five.” Bacot’s injury is the first real threat to that now-famous quintet, but his determination to play, along with Hubert Davis’ adamant response to that question on Saturday night, looks to have removed any doubt. Bacot will play against Kansas on Monday night.
Like the man said, he ain’t got a choice.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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