Dexter Strickland, North Carolina's top defensive player, will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior-cruciate ligament in his right knee, North Carolina's athletics officials announced in a statement released Friday night.
Strickland, a 6-foot-3 junior from Rahway, N.J., was injured early in the second half of North Carolina's 82-68 victory at Virginia Tech as he drove to the basket Thursday night.
Strickland had started every game this season for the Tar Heels (16-3) and shared the team lead in steals with 25 and was second in assists with 39. He also was shooting a team-high 57 percent from the floor and was averaging 7.5 points a game.
Surgery to repair the torn ligament has not been scheduled, university officials said.
Coach Roy Williams was traveling Friday and was not immediately available for comment.
Strickland injured his left knee last season but played through that injury and did not need surgery.
Reggie Bullock, a 6-7 sophomore, and P.J. Hairston, a 6-5 freshman, most likely will be asked to step into Strickland's role. Both are known as shooters, and neither is considered a strong defender.
Tar Heels center Tyler Zeller said that the four remaining starters and the reserves would have to make up for Strickland's absence.
"We're going to have to make up a lot defensively," Zeller said after Thursday's game. "He's a fantastic defender. He can chase guys around screens. He can defend one-on-one very well.
"It is a big loss for us. And he's been shooting the ball extremely well for us."
Strickland fell to the floor in obvious pain after his knee buckled on a break with 16:44 left. He was helped to the bench, where trainer Chris Hirth applied ice to the knee.
"As soon as I planted (my leg), I felt it," Strickland said at Virginia Tech. "It felt a lot better by the end of the game. I think I was so scared at first that it made it hurt even more. I walked back here (to the locker room) and had a little limp. It was real sore."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement