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Roy Williams says UNC preparing ‘to play without Kendall’

spt-120318-kendall

Mike Miller

North Carolina coach Roy Williams reiterated his Kendall Marshall stance on Tuesday, which means the Heels don’t expect to have him for Friday’s game against Ohio.

Our preparation is, 100 percent, to play without Kendall,” he said.

That doesn’t mean Marshall, who suffered a right-wrist fracture during Sunday’s win against Creighton and had surgery Monday to insert a pin in it, won’t play vs. the Bobcats. But Williams says if the Heels win, the chances of Marshall suiting up in Sunday’s Regional Final is far more likely.

The sophomore point guard is the Heels’ most important player, not only for his incredible passing skills – he averages 10 assists a game and has the fourth-highest single-season total in NCAA history – but because UNC doesn’t has a capable backup.

“I’ve got to try to come up with a way to replace somebody that is darn hard to replace,” Williams said.

Without him, it’d use either freshman Stilman White or senior Justin Watts, neither of whom are close to Marshall’s talent.

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