UNC basketball Henri Veesaar injury game day update: Will he play at Syracuse?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Henri Veesaar will practice limited Friday but remains questionable for Syracuse.
- Veesaar’s absence led Stevenson and Zayden High to handle bulk of frontcourt minutes.
- UNC lost James Brown for season; Veesaar update after practice, Wilson next week.
Henri Veesaar will start on Saturday as North Carolina plays at Syracuse, per a team spokesperson.
The official ACC availability report released at 11 a.m. Saturday morning listed Veesaar as a game-time decision for No. 16 North Carolina’s 1 p.m. game with Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome.
“He’s getting better every day,” Davis said during his pregame media availability on Friday afternoon. “He had an individual workout yesterday. He’s planning on participating in practice today — limited basis. But he is still questionable. So, we’ll just have to see how practice goes.”
Veesaar missed the past two games after suffering a lower-body injury around the time of UNC’s Feb. 10 loss at Miami. A team spokesperson confirmed that Veesaar has not practiced since the day before the Miami game. The Tar Heels have gone 1-1 since that contest, beating Pittsburgh last Saturday at home before falling at NC State on Tuesday night.
Against Pittsburgh, Veesaar was a late scratch after warming up, albeit in limited fashion, with teammates. Illness was initially the primary concern, per a team spokesperson, while the staff also monitored the lower-body issue. Veesaar again entered Tuesday’s game at N.C. State listed as questionable before being ruled out when the team arrived roughly two hours before tipoff.
“I told the guys before, you’re really not in control of very much,” Davis said. “You’re just not. But what you are in control of, with the circumstances ahead of you, how do you react and how do you respond?”
The 7-footer has been a central piece of UNC’s productive frontcourt this season. Veesaar is averaging 16.4 points (second on the team) while shooting a team-best 61.5% from the field and 44.8% from 3-point range. He is also averaging nine rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. The Arizona transfer, playing his redshirt junior season after three years with the Wildcats, has recorded 13 double-doubles — a mark that led the ACC entering the Pitt game — and is expected to draw first-round consideration in the 2026 NBA Draft.
‘We’ve had to figure it out’
His absence led to increased minutes for Jarin Stevenson and Zayden High, who handled the bulk of the frontcourt responsibilities over the past two games. While the pair has combined for solid production, Veesaar’s scoring efficiency, rebounding and floor spacing have been difficult to replace — compounded, of course, by star freshman Caleb Wilson’s absence.
Against N.C. State, UNC was outscored in the paint, 40-28.
“We’ve had to figure out, throughout the season, many different ways (to play),” Davis said Friday afternoon, referring to the many lineups UNC has been forced into this season due to injuries. “We’ll figure this out.”
Davis did not have an update on Wilson’s injury, but said he would have one next week, when more imaging is set to be done on the freshman’s hand.
“He’s been in my office every day,” Davis said, adding with a laugh, “He wants to practice today. I’m not gonna let him.”
Wilson has been putting in “real” work in the weight room, as well as with conditioning and ball-handling drills, Davis said.
“He can shoot it,” Davis said. “He just can’t catch it. And so he does all the regular shooting drills that he does. You just have to bounce pass it to him. Other than regularly passing the ball to him, he’s doing everything. Obviously, not playing five-on-five, or anything (with contact).”
“When he comes back, he’ll be in shape and ready to go,” Davis added.
More depth concerns
North Carolina’s frontcourt depth took another hit this week. Center James Brown underwent season-ending surgery on his right foot Wednesday, a school spokesperson confirmed Friday.
The 6-foot-10, 240-pound sophomore from Aurora, Illinois, appeared in nine games this season, totaling 11 points and 13 rebounds. Brown had been listed on the ACC injury report throughout conference play alongside fellow center and High Point transfer Ivan Matlekovic. With multiple frontcourt starters and backups unavailable, Stevenson and High have been the only traditional bigs consistently available.
The Tar Heels enter Syracuse at 20-6 overall and 8-5 in league play, tied for sixth with the Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball. The SMU Mustangs men’s basketball sit one game back.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 4:00 PM.