P.J. Hairston suffered a nasty freak injury to his non-shooting left hand late in North Carolina’s 83-62 win over Florida State in the 2013 ACC Tournament quarterfinals Friday.
The question heading into Saturday: Will Hairston, who was the key to the Heels’ late-season turnaround, be able to play against Maryland?
“We are extremely concerned right now,” said UNC coach Roy Williams moments after the game, as Hairston was getting stitched up just down the hall.
Hairston needed eight stitches to close up the gash, which happened as he was fighting for a loose ball.
A natural guard, Hairston was moved to power forward when Williams decided to tinker with his lineup to get more scoring and defensive quickness on the floor.
Carolina has gone 7-2 since the move to what is essentially a four-guard lineup. Hairston is third on the team in scoring at 13.9 points per game.
His status for today’s game is very much up in the air.
“I have no idea,” was all Williams could say.