Armando Bacot: I'm Playing

UNC big man says he'd have to lose a leg to sit out

Armando Bacot went down with an ankle injury in the second half of North Carolina’s win over Duke in Saturday’s National Semifinal. Bacot was able to return to the game and finish off an 11-point, 21-rebound performance for the Tar Heels in their win over the Blue Devils.

While the ankle appeared to still be bothering Bacot after the game, coach Hubert Davis was unequivocal in the postgame press conference.

"I have a read (on the injury)," he said. "He'll play. I can read. He will play. Even if he just stands there, he's going to play."

On Sunday, he gave an update on his big man.

“He’s going to practice today,” Davis said. “They did X-rays, and they were all negative. Obviously, he’s a little sore, but he was walking around and feeling good and was very encouraged with the amount of swelling from his ankle sprain. And he’s ready to play tomorrow night.”

Bacot reaffirmed that when he met with the media.

“I’m definitely going to practice,” he said. “My status for tomorrow is I’m playing. No chance I’m not playing in the national championship game. My right leg would have to be cut off for me not to play.”

Bacot also held off on giving an estimate of what percentage he thought the ankle was at.

“I know I’ll feel a lot better tomorrow,” he said. “Especially closer to the game. So I don’t want to put a percentage on it now.”

Davis said that Bacot’s matchup with Kansas’ David McCormack could “ultimately come down to the winner of that matchup being the determining factor of who wins the championship.”