RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Durantula]

UNC's power forward Xylina McDaniel left the Elon game last week with an apparent leg injury and I was told she may miss a big chunk of conference play, if not the remainder of the season. Having played in 12 games this season I do not believe she would be eligible for a redshirt, which is very unfortunate as she probably misses the deadline by 1 or 2 games at most.

McDaniel was UNC's 3rd leading scorer and 3rd leading rebounder. UNC is still quite talented, but maybe instead of a top 5 team they are closer to a top 15-20 team without McDaniel? Most of UNC's reserves that get playing time are perimeter players, and given Hatchell's uptempo system and love for pressure defense, I could see her going small and playing 4 guards. Their two backup posts, Hillary Summers and Hillary Fuller, have played the fewest minutes of any UNC player this year so it not be realistic to see them starting for McDaniel. Mavunga is a good rebounder and Allisha Gray rebounds really well for a guard so they might be able to get away with going to a smaller lineup if they force more steals. Sad news for UNC, McDaniel is a ferocious competitor and one of their upperclass leaders.

[summertime blues]

Wow, that sucks for UNC! Can anyone elaborate on the injury? If McDaniel misses most of the season and there truly is no backup plan, they are hurting indeed. Going small may not help when they are overpowered by bigger teams.

_________________
Don't take life so serious. It ain't nohows permanent.
It takes 3 years to build a team and 7 to build a program.--Conventional Wisdom

[NoDakSt]

Best wishes to Xy in getting healthy and back on court.

[NoDakSt]

Tarheel Insider reporting most likely out for the season. Injury is a torn calf muscle.

[PRballer]

That's tough for Carolina.

Jatarie White was a huge recruiting loss to SC and now their post depth is practically nill.

[Davis4632]

This is a huge loss for UNC. Danielle Butts will mostly move in the starting lineup.