UNC's rotation might have looked fluid on Thursday night in the Tar Heels' 74-55 victory against N.C. State, but coach Roy Williams said afterward he needed to do a better job of managing his players' minutes with junior guard Dexter Strickland done for the season.
"It was hard for me, trying to figure out how to do it," Williams said of adjusting his rotation without Strickland, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week. "I knew I wanted to manage Kendall's minutes around the (TV) timeouts. And I think I did that. But other than that, I didn't do a very good job of it."
Tar Heels point guard Kendall Marshall played 34 minutes, and reserve point guard Stilman White entered the game in advance of media timeouts. Freshman forward Desmond Hubert, who hadn't played in two games while recovering from an ankle injury, tied a season high with 13 minutes against the Wolfpack.
Hubert's extra playing time wasn't a residual effect of Strickland's injury, Williams said.
"It really didn't have to do with Dexter," Williams said. "I just really wanted to get Desmond some more time."
Williams said his team's game Sunday against Georgia Tech (8-12, 1-5) will offer him a chance to better figure the right rotation for the Tar Heels (17-3, 4-1).
