CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A decision still hasn’t been made about whether North Carolina junior reserve Leslie McDonald, who had reconstructive knee surgery in August, will return this season. But it sounds like one will come by the end of the month.
“I think I said this early: Human nature, you want to say, ‘Why would you give up a whole year, just to play half a year?’ So that’s been in the back of my mind since the start,’’ UNC coach Roy Williams said Friday. “So that’s something we want to see. And to me … [a decision] is not going to be very long from now. In my opinion, why would you wait until February to bring a guy back? In my opinion, that wouldn’t be very wise.”
Williams said McDonald’s rehab has been “sensational, it’s been off the charts. He’s been ahead of every expectation.”
But the sharpshooting wing also is still working his way back. After he was cleared to fully practice last week, for example, McDonald worked out in five-on-five drills during most of Tuesday’s practice, had some soreness and had to sit out Wednesday, then went through most of practice Friday (Thursday was an off day). “And we’ll see how it feels tomorrow. So right now, you’re in the exploratory stage of seeing how it is,’’ Williams said.
If McDonald does return this season, it’s unclear how much he would play in a rotation that also features reserve guards Reggie Bullock (9.3 ppg, 18.1 mpg) and P.J. Hairston (8.3 ppg, 12.9 mpg).
Williams has had different players make different choices when it comes to late-season comebacks. During the 2008-09 NCAA championship season, senior Marcus Ginyard opted to redshirt after a foot injury; the next season, his team lost 17 games. The same season, forward Tyler Zeller returned to play the final 13 games.
But Zeller, now a senior, was in a different situation than McDonald: he was a rookie with a chance to experience ACC play, a 7-footer who didn’t see himself staying around for five years.
“My thought was, because I was a freshman -- and this is kind of bold, which I don’t usually do -- but I’d always said, ‘If I’m not out of here in four years, then there’s something wrong. I should be going into business, or I should be doing something else anyway.’ That was kind of my mindset. I knew that I could gain experience, I could get better. But I also didn’t want to go to grad school, so I figured that four years was enough for me.”
Zeller said he has shared his thoughts with McDonald on the process. And ultimately, the decision may hinge on how quickly McDonald continues to improve in practice.
“First day, he didn’t miss a shot,’’ Williams said. “He was off the charts. And today, he didn’t make a shot. He said they fouled him all the time. So mentally, he’s there.”
Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.
“I think I said this early: Human nature, you want to say, ‘Why would you give up a whole year, just to play half a year?’ So that’s been in the back of my mind since the start,’’ UNC coach Roy Williams said Friday. “So that’s something we want to see. And to me … [a decision] is not going to be very long from now. In my opinion, why would you wait until February to bring a guy back? In my opinion, that wouldn’t be very wise.”
Williams said McDonald’s rehab has been “sensational, it’s been off the charts. He’s been ahead of every expectation.”
But the sharpshooting wing also is still working his way back. After he was cleared to fully practice last week, for example, McDonald worked out in five-on-five drills during most of Tuesday’s practice, had some soreness and had to sit out Wednesday, then went through most of practice Friday (Thursday was an off day). “And we’ll see how it feels tomorrow. So right now, you’re in the exploratory stage of seeing how it is,’’ Williams said.
If McDonald does return this season, it’s unclear how much he would play in a rotation that also features reserve guards Reggie Bullock (9.3 ppg, 18.1 mpg) and P.J. Hairston (8.3 ppg, 12.9 mpg).
Williams has had different players make different choices when it comes to late-season comebacks. During the 2008-09 NCAA championship season, senior Marcus Ginyard opted to redshirt after a foot injury; the next season, his team lost 17 games. The same season, forward Tyler Zeller returned to play the final 13 games.
But Zeller, now a senior, was in a different situation than McDonald: he was a rookie with a chance to experience ACC play, a 7-footer who didn’t see himself staying around for five years.
“My thought was, because I was a freshman -- and this is kind of bold, which I don’t usually do -- but I’d always said, ‘If I’m not out of here in four years, then there’s something wrong. I should be going into business, or I should be doing something else anyway.’ That was kind of my mindset. I knew that I could gain experience, I could get better. But I also didn’t want to go to grad school, so I figured that four years was enough for me.”
Zeller said he has shared his thoughts with McDonald on the process. And ultimately, the decision may hinge on how quickly McDonald continues to improve in practice.
“First day, he didn’t miss a shot,’’ Williams said. “He was off the charts. And today, he didn’t make a shot. He said they fouled him all the time. So mentally, he’s there.”
Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Robbi Pickeral
Robbi Pickeral joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending eight years covering North Carolina and the ACC for The (Raleigh) News & Observer. She previously wrote about preps in Florida and the NBA in Minnesota, and now lives near Tobacco Road.
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