Kendall Marshall Undergoes Surgery for Wrist Injury – Can UNC Make It without Him?
University of North Carolina entered March Madness 2012 as one of the best teams in the race to the top. In fact, President Barack Obama chose UNC as the team that would take the final championship. The vigor that the team brought into every match had people all over the country refill their brackets. Everything was rosy and the going was great. Then disaster struck. The star player, Kendall Marshall broke his wrist. Can UNC make it to the top without him? When the going gets tough in the coming rounds, can UNC get going? Or will a single player and a single injury dash the hopes of hundreds of UNC followers?
According to latest march madness news, Marshall has been operated upon. His father revealed to the press that a screw has been drilled into his wrist in a surgery that lasted 35 minutes. It is certainly unlikely that he plays on Friday at St. Louis. Ohio is the competitor and it looks good this season. Also, this is the first time since 2007 that the Ohio Buckeyes have earned a place in the top 16 and their spirit is palpable. With Deshaun Thomas of the Buckeyes in full swing and form, UNC will really have to pull up their socks and tie up their laces when they enter the field without Kendall. However, the silver lining is that dad Dennis Marshall has left the option open for Friday’s match. He said it is not impossible for his son to take to the court in Friday. It all depends on how well he feels four days from now and if the doctors will give that much anticipated nod. UNC Tar Heels, with a stunning win record of 31-5, are still the #1 seed in their region and it will be unfair if Friday’s match does not take them through.
Coming to Kendall and the match that brought him bad luck in 2012 March Madness, you should give him credit for his spirit. This game that he and his team will always remember was played against Creighton and it caused Kendall to break the scaphoid bone near the left thumb. It happened during the second half of the game. Despite the injury, Marshall stuck to the field and even scored a dunk. The admirable thing about him, the thing that brought out his true mettle was that he stayed put on the court despite the fracture until the team was assured of a victory. When he left the court during the last quarter of an hour, UNC’s victory was in the bag and a big thanks to Kendall for securing it.
In case he cannot play in the coming matches, where does that leave the Tar Heels? In January, another star player Dexter Strickland had to sit out of the game due to a knee injury and he is still incapacitated. Now if Marshall is out, the ones to carry the baton will be Stilman White and Justin Watts. Although both of them are excellent players, Stilman is a freshman and lacks experience while Watts is not as good as Marshall or Strickland. The team will definitely miss the quick processing of court data and unsurpassed moves that were characteristic of Kendall Marshall. All we can say is “Go UNC, Do it, Beat ‘em and Get the Cup”
