Brandon Robinson's Ankle Injury is 'Serious.' Here's How UNC Plans to Replace His Production.
North Carolina will be without senior guard Brandon Robinson when it begins it season on Wednesday night against Notre Dame, and it could be a while before the Tar Heels get him back.
After suffering a sprained right ankle in Friday’s exhibition victory over Winston-Salem State, there is currently no timetable for Robinson’s return.
“I think it’s really serious,” Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “He’s riding around on a scooter; he’s not walking. He’s got a boot on and he’s riding around on a scooter.”
Robinson’s injury adds to a list that will include three teammates sitting out on Wednesday night vs. Notre Dame, joining Anthony Harris and Jeramiah Francis, who are still recovering from knee injuries they suffered in high school, along with big man Sterling Manley, who is battling soreness in the left knee he had offseason surgery on.
The loss of Robinson is a tough blow for Carolina, which will likely be starting four players who will be making their Tar Heel debuts in freshmen Cole Anthony and Armando Bacot, along with graduate transfers Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce.
Garrison Brooks, the lone veteran in the starting lineup, was concerned the second Robinson went down on Friday night, having never seen him stay down that long after taking a bump.
There’s no way, he said, that one person can step into the void created by Robinson’s absence.
“We all need to step up,” Brooks said. “I don’t think we’re going to look at one specific guy and say, ‘You need to step up in B-Rob’s spot,’ because I don’t want to put that on anyone. B-Rob is a really big leader for us and really big playmaker…”
Given Notre Dame’s wealth of experience on the perimeter in TJ Gibbs, Prentiss Hubb and DJ Harvey — plus attempting 43 percent of their field goals from 3-point range — his absence is especially troubling for Williams.
“He’s the only guy on our team that’s ever played on a consistent basis in an ACC game, so defense, offense, rebounding, ballhandling — we’ve got to get it from everybody, everything,” he said.
Robinson’s absence also stands to affect Carolina’s floor spacing as he was the Tar Heels’ best returning 3-point shooter at 46 percent last season.
“He was the best 3-point shooter returning … we’d like for them to make some shots,” Williams said. “They’ve got to rebound the ball. He wasn’t rebounding it great in practice, but that’s what we say from our two-, three-men; we’ve got to get help.”
The timing couldn’t have been worse, as Carolina was finding an identity with six newcomers in the lineup.
“I think we’re making strides in the right directions,” Brooks said. “It’s kind of tough when we just lost B-Rob for a couple of weeks, but I think we’ll be fine. We’ll be fine tomorrow and we’ve just got to keep getting better.”
