UNC freshman Tyler Zeller's future will be determined this week, Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said Monday.
Zeller has been out since breaking his left wrist on Nov. 18. The 7-foot forward returned to practice last week and could return to help the Heels, who have five regular-season games left. If he does, he would lose the opportunity to redshirt.
"Is he willing to sacrifice a whole year for five or six games?" Williams said, "We'll make a decision this week."
Williams said he would leave the decision up to Zeller, who scored 20 points in the first two games of the season, both starts. Williams said he and Zeller had a conference call with Zeller's parents on Saturday to talk about the decision.
"He has had five or six practices. He hasn't played basketball in 12 weeks," Williams said. "Can he come back and be effective?"
UNC's rotation has been reduced to eight players with the injury to senior wing Marcus Ginyard and the suspension of sophomore forward Will Graves.
Zeller, a McDonald's All-American, would give the Heels another big body to relieve starters Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson. Freshman forward Ed Davis is the only reserve in the frontcourt rotation, although Williams has been able to give Danny Green minutes at forward.
UNC hosts N.C. State on Wednesday and travels to Maryland on Saturday.
Comments
FEAR THE TURTLE!
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 19:58 — lil576UNC will need all the help they can muster for their trip to College Park this week. Gary and his boy's have their back's to the wall and are poised for another upset of the Tar-Heels.
HAHAHA!!!
Tue, 02/17/2009 - 23:34 — the_wb91Man that is good... you are hilarious... take that on the road.
solidify position
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 18:09 — the_wb91If he is healthy he needs to come back contribute to this team because he is talented and would be a big help. With the guys coming in next year he needs to come in and solidify his position for next year. The Big guys UNC has coming in is ridiculous.... J. Henson and the Wear twins are very talented. J. Henson appears to be a cross between a young KG and K. Durant. Then there is E. Davis who is already ahead of the learning curb on him. He really needs to do this for himself and his career.
ditto: no brainer
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 15:43 — delivererunless, of course, Mr. Zeller plans to be a career college student.
Five or Six?
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 14:06 — jblues1969Five or Six, Roy?
Five regular season games + Three ACC Tournament games + 6 NCAA Tournament games = Fourteen games.
These are the ones that really count, too. It's a no-brainer. Nobody who loves college basketball would choose to sit those out.
It is a no-brainer
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 13:00 — JPDOhioIn my view, UNC is still the clear favorite to win the National Championship this year. Zeller should grab the chance to be part of it, because there are no guarantees he will get as good an opportunity in his remaining years at UNC. And, regardless of how many minutes he can give, his presence would improve UNC's already excellent odds.
ZELL!
Mon, 02/16/2009 - 12:35 — rtarnowskiSeems like a no-brainer to me. As a 7 ft McDonald's All-American who can run the floor and has a legit jumper, it's unlikely he views himself as a 4 year player. Gotta take your chance at winning a National Championship.