CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina guard Reggie Bullock returned to practice on Friday and coach Roy Williams is hopeful that Bullock, who suffered a concussion last week, will be able to contribute Sunday when the Tar Heels begin ACC play at Virginia.

Bullock, a junior, sat out UNC’s 79-73 victory against UNLV on Dec. 29, and hadn’t practiced since suffering the concussion.

“If he doesn’t have any headaches or any recurrence of symptoms that they’re worried about the concussion, I would expect him to completely practice tomorrow and if he does the same thing after that I would expect him to play on Sunday,” Williams said on Friday. “So everybody uses this term, ‘cautiously optimistic,’ I guess (that) is where we are.”

Bullock is UNC’s second-leading scorer and is averaging 13.1 points per game. He has made 47.5 percent of his 3-point attempts, which leads the ACC. Before suffering the concussion, Bullock had emerged as UNC’s most consistent scorer. He had scored in double-figures in five consecutive games before missing the UNLV game.

Williams said Bullock endured the concussion during practice last Thursday when he and James Michael McAdoo, the sophomore forward, made contact while attempting to deflect a long pass.

“And all of a sudden, Reggie’s lying on the ground,” Williams said.

Grading McAdoo

If Williams were handing out grades, McAdoo, the sophomore forward, would get a passing one.

“But I wouldn’t give him an A,” Williams said. “And my guess is if you were to talk to him, right now he wouldn’t give himself an A.”

After playing a supporting role during his freshman season, McAdoo entered this season with the understanding that he’d have to emerge as a consistent go-to player for UNC on both ends of the court. Entering conference play, he’s the Tar Heels’ leading scorer (14.8 points per game) and rebounder (8.3).

Still, Williams said McAdoo’s game is improving.

“I think it’s more or less a work in progress,” Williams said. “His game is evolving all the time. He’s getting better and better, he’s hard to guard, he’s a 6-8, 6-9 guy who can step out and face up. He can take the ball to the basket. “… You’re talking about a guy that is in his sophomore year but didn’t play 25 minutes a game his freshman year, either, so I think it’s really still evolving.”

Roy rails on transfers, APR

Reports emerged on Friday that the NCAA is considering significant changes to its transfer rules. One proposal would allow athletes with at least a 2.6 GPA to transfer and be able to play immediately, without having to sit out a year.

Williams said he wasn’t informed enough to offer an opinion on the potential new rule, but he did offer some general thoughts on transferring, and on the APR, which is a tool the NCAA uses to track academic progress.

“Kids transfer,” Williams said. “They’re going to transfer. They’re going to transfer more now than they did 10 years ago, 20 years ago. It’s the world we live in. It’s instant gratification. It’s what it is. There’s no patience in the world.

“And we keep trying to make rules and legislation to stop kids from transferring – that’s not going to happen. But you know, I don’t know. I think now we have the deal if a kid transfers, if you don’t have a 2.6 (GPA), it takes away your APR numbers, which I think is really stupid.

“There’s a lot of people that go to school and graduate and don’t ever have a 2.6. And so I think that that part of that rule is ludicrous. But I really haven’t had time to think about it.”

Carter: 919-829-8944 Twitter: @_andrewcarter