Lawson's sprained ankle slowed down Tar Heels, for the better

Originally Published: April 1, 2008

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By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A funny thing happened while North Carolina sophomore point guard Ty Lawson was out with a sprained left ankle for six games in February: The Tar Heels found a half-court game, received more confident play from backup senior point Quentin Thomas and became a better team.

"Me going down helped us out a lot," Lawson said. "Quentin played a lot better, we picked up a half-court offense, which I didn't think we had in the first half of the season."

[+] Enlarge Ty Lawson

AP Photo/Nell RedmondTy Lawson's left ankle was a big concern to the Tar Heels, but now they may be better off with the experienced gained without their point guard.

Lawson hurt the ankle in a Feb. 3 win against Florida State and was out until March 1. The Tar Heels went 5-1 during that stretch, losing the first game without Lawson to Duke at home.

But Lawson is convinced his injury helped the team. He didn't hear any debate from Thomas or guard Wayne Ellington.

"It was a blessing in disguise because it allowed Quentin to gain confidence at the point, and now when Ty goes out we have two guys who can come in and contribute," Ellington said. "We don't miss a beat when Ty goes out. We felt we were ready for Ty to come back, and we knew when he was 100 percent, we would be a stronger team."

Thomas was rocky in the Duke loss, posting seven assists and six turnovers. But after that, the senior dished out 33 assists and committed just 13 turnovers in UNC's five wins that followed.

"It helped me be more comfortable out there, be more aggressive and do things well so that when Ty came back my confidence was still high," Thomas said.

But building Thomas' confidence wasn't the only thing that changed for the Tar Heels, who take on Kansas in Saturday's national semifinal in San Antonio . You could make a strong argument that Tyler Hansbrough's season and candidacy for national player of the year soared in Lawson's absence. At that point in early February, Kansas State's Michael Beasley was probably holding a slim lead in the popular vote. But look at Hansbrough's numbers during those five wins with Lawson out:

• Clemson: 39 points, 13 rebounds and 3 steals
• At Virginia: 23 points and 7 boards
• Virginia Tech: 23 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals
• At NC State: 32 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals
• Wake Forest: 29 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals

"[My absence] got us a half-court offense," Lawson said. "We had to slow it down a bit when I didn't play and move the ball a lot more. That's what we're going to have to do to get past the next two games.

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"Honestly, I don't think [the half-court offense would have developed] because of the way we play. I got people shots real quick."

North Carolina coach Roy Williams said the Tar Heels always work on a half-court offense during the season, and it might have still developed with Lawson on the court. Still, Williams doesn't dispute that Lawson's absence improved Thomas' game and clearly helped the team overall when others stepped up.

Lawson, who returned for a March 1 game against Boston College, struggled in his first five games back. But in the Tar Heels' past five games, going back to their victory over Clemson in the ACC tournament championship game, the sophomore scored in double figures each time and has a combined 28 assists with only 10 turnovers.

And it wasn't until that ACC tournament title game -- nearly six weeks after he injured the ankle -- when Lawson finally said he felt comfortable. He could take off for a layup and change directions and attack the gaps like he could prior to the injury.

"That's when I could do everything I wanted to do," Lawson said.

So even though Hansbrough is playing like a stud (he was named East Regional Most Outstanding Player) and Thomas has more confidence, Williams isn't ready to play without Lawson right now.

All was quiet on the team bus heading back to Chapel Hill after UNC's Elite Eight win over Louisville when Williams said he suddenly turned to his assistants and told them he was worried about Lawson's ankle.

On the last play of the victory that sent UNC to the Final Four, Lawson tweaked the ankle again. In the locker room afterward, Lawson answered reporters' questions while his ankle was wrapped in ice.

"I was scared about that, but he came [Sunday] for treatment and said it felt fine," Williams said during a Monday teleconference. "But it scared him a little bit and scared us a little bit."

"That's the first time I've worried about my ankle since the [start of the] NCAA tournament," Lawson said. "I'm not scared about it at all."

That's good. The Tar Heels are done improving without Lawson. They'll need him if they're going to finish off the season with two more wins.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.