North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough, who could be taken as early as 11th in the NBA draft Thursday night, said he debated whether to accept the invitation to sit in the Green Room at Madison Square Garden.

"But it's always been a dream of mine to be there and shake Mr. Stern's hand,” Hansbrough said during a phone interview Tuesday.

CHAPEL HILL — Foot injuries have been a painful nuisance for North Carolina’s basketball team in recent years.

In 2002-03, center Sean May, who now plays for the Charlotte Bobcats, was limited to 11 games because of a broken bone in his left foot. In 2006-07, Quentin Thomas, who graduated last summer, had a stress reaction in his left foot that caused him to miss nine games. That same
season, Bobby Frasor, now a senior, missed 10 games during two stretches because of injuries to his right foot.

Now Marcus Ginyard, UNC’s top defender, will miss the rest of the season and seek a medical redshirt because his left foot — which still boasts a pin, and was inserted to heal a stress fracture in October, still hurts.

So far, Mike Copeland's most notable contribution for the Tar Heels this season is his staredown with Ben McCauley late in Saturday's win over N.C. State. He's going to have to do more now.

The announcement late Tuesday night that Marcus Ginyard will redshirt and Will Graves is suspended, depriving North Carolina of two key reserves for what is intended to be a national-title run, puts pressure on Copeland to step in and contribute.

CHAPEL HILL — Senior wing Marcus Ginyard will miss the rest of the season with an injured left foot, UNC announced after its 108-91 win over Maryland on Tuesday night.

The school also announced sophomore forward Will Graves has been suspended for the remainder of the season for an unspecified reason.

Roy Williams has a serious dilemma on his hands with this whole Marcus Ginyard situation. He won't play tomorrow against N.C. State, and it's clear at this point his surgically repaired foot isn't healing right.

Seems like the sensible thing to do would be to slap a redshirt on the senior and move on. But he's also invaluable at both ends of the floor, and you could make the argument that the Heels would have a hard time winning a national title without Ginyard, at least a mostly healthy Ginyard.

The Heels really only need Ginyard for, at most, nine games — three in the ACC Tournament, six in the NCAA Tournament. The problem is, the only way to find out if Ginyard's ready
is to play him in a game, and if he plays in one more game a redshirt
is out.

• Talking Points: The Ginyard Dilemma

CHAPEL HILL — After watching Florida State's Toney Douglas drop 32 points during fifth-ranked North Carolina's down-to-the-wire victory on Wednesday, it's clear the Tar Heels are still missing a perimeter defender.

And it sounds like they won't be getting him back any time soon.

Senior Marcus Ginyard will miss his seventh straight game Saturday, at N.C. State, coach Roy Williams said Friday. And since the wing hasn't returned to practice yet, it seems unlikely he will play against Maryland or Virginia this week.

North Carolina forward Marcus Ginyard still has not returned to practice, and no decision has been made about when -- or if -- the senior defensive stopper will return this season.

"Marcus and I talked yesterday, he still did not practice yesterday, and we're going to look at him and talk to the doctors more a little more this week, so there hasn't been any decision made on him,'' coach Roy Williams said.

North Carolina guard Wayne Ellington's 23-point game Sunday against Miami — which included seven straight three-pointers in the second half — broke him out of a cold shooting spell.

But it also could be a good warm-up for Wednesday's game against Clemson, a team he notoriously sizzles against.

Three of the junior's best career games have come against the Tigers. Last year at Clemson, he capped his career-high 36-point performance with a game-winning three-pointer; later that season at the Smith Center, he swished 28 points, including five three-pointers. Then during the ACC tournament, he scored 24.

North Carolina senior Marcus Ginyard sat out his second consecutive game Sunday as he continues to rehabilitate his still-not-100 percent foot, and coach Roy Williams said Monday they've decided to "shut him down" from basketball practices and games.

"We don't have a set date — a week, two weeks, just try to get more rehab on that foot, try to get more of his explosiveness back, his quickness back, and get rid of some
of that pain,'' he said.

CHAPEL HILL — After watching North Carolina wing Marcus Ginyard struggle to return to 100 percent after foot surgery, Roy Williams considering sidelining the senior to allow him to heal.

“I just thought, and Marcus thought, that he would be farther along at this [point],’’ coach Roy Williams said. “We are even discussing holding him out a little bit, just seeing him rehab and letting him get back to that point where he was is in the past. And if that’s the case, then we’ll be a heck of a lot better off.”