How UNC’s Armando Bacot found the strength to play three days after injuring an ankle
Armando Bacot watched the replay “six or seven times.” Over and over again, until finally, it became too tough to watch.
The replay was of Bacot, a UNC freshman forward, spraining his ankle in the first half of last Wednesday’s game against Ohio State. He tried to tip in a miss, but when he came down, his left foot landed on Buckeyes forward E.J. Liddell’s foot, twisting in a motion that most ankles probably should not.
His ankle looked like it had snapped.
“It was like ‘ew,’” Bacot said, shivering, as if still disturbed by the image of it. “Honestly, I thought I broke it.”
Fortunately for Bacot and the Tar Heels, he did not. X-rays taken the following day revealed that Bacot had suffered an ankle sprain. But the timetable for Bacot’s return was far from certain.
UNC basketball coach Roy Williams on Friday gave Bacot a less than one percent chance to play in this past Sunday’s game against Virginia. He said based on the swelling he didn’t see how Bacot could play.
Sophomore Leaky Black, his roommate, said the same.
“It really did look broken,” Black said. “Like a softball on his ankle.”
But in the following days, the swelling began to subside and Bacot began to feel better.
And on Sunday, after going through a series of drills, he felt well enough to play against the Cavaliers.
Bacot scored 11 points and blocked two shots in UNC’s 56-47 loss to Virginia. He played in 25 minutes.
The fact that Bacot was well enough to play is a good sign for the Tar Heels, who will need him this season. Bacot is averaging 10.6 points per game, 8.1 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and is shooting 58.2 percent from the floor. In two of those games, including the Ohio State game, he missed most of the first half and the entire second half with an injury, which have brought his averages down some.
Bacot gives the Tar Heels shot blocking ability that’s been missing in recent years. He’s also shown an ability to score in the post, which has always been coveted in Roy Williams’ offense.
And the Tar Heels need that.
But for a moment, Bacot thought his season might be over, and perhaps his brief college career.
Armando Bacot’s injury better
The first sign that Bacot’s injury wasn’t as bad as he initially thought was late Wednesday night when he was able to bounce on it.
“That’s my roommate, so later that night, he was kind of moving on it,” Black said, demonstrating a side-to-side motion. Black sprained his ankle last year and missed nearly half the season, so he had experience with it. “I was like, he’s not supposed to be doing that right now.”
By Thursday, Williams, who was out of town recruiting, said he received a text from the head athletic trainer Doug Halverson with an update. It wasn’t a break, and the swelling in Bacot’s ankle had gone down. It was encouraging news for his long term prognosis.
But Williams said he was still doubtful Bacot would play against Virginia.
Each day, for six or seven hours, Bacot said he rehabbed his ankle with Halverson and strength coach Jonas Sahratian.
And each day, his ankle got stronger.
“I came back on Friday, I walked downstairs and he’s in the hallway,” Williams said of Bacot. “I said, ‘what’s up, limpy,’ and he broke out into a little jog for about 15 feet and said, ‘No, I’m not limping anymore.’”
So on Saturday, Williams said he allowed Bacot to go through some drills in preparation for the game. Bacot said he didn’t have any pain after the drills.
In the team’s shoot-around early Sunday morning, Bacot said his ankle was even better. And minutes before the game, Williams inserted Bacot into the starting lineup against the Cavaliers.
‘My team needed me’
Bacot, who’s from Richmond, Va., said he was motivated by the Tar Heels’ 25-point loss to Ohio State, as well as the opportunity to play the Cavaliers in his home state. He had family there to watch him play.
“But I knew, most importantly, my team needed me,” Bacot said Sunday.
They did. For the second consecutive game, the Tar Heels struggled to score.
Bacot was one of only two Tar Heels’ players to shoot above 50 percent in the 56-47 loss at Virginia. He was 5 of 8 from the floor. However, he struggled on the boards, which can probably be attributed to his ankle. He finished with only two rebounds.
“I’d say of all the guys to be critical of, he’d be the least to be critical about,” Williams said. “It’s a long list with the other guys, but not with Armando.”
After the game against Virginia, Bacot wore a bag of ice taped around his ankle. He moved around a little gingerly, but said he was grateful to return to the court. Because, for a while, he wasn’t sure whether he’d be back.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” Bacot said. “So all I can do is thank God.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:00 PM.
