North Carolina sophomore James McAdoo is playing through a bulging disc in his back but says he'll be ready for Saturday's ACC rivalry game with No.3 Duke.
Coach Roy Williams says McAdoo didn't participate in a light shootaround Thursday after aggravating his back during a win at Maryland on Wednesday night. McAdoo has been battling back pain for several weeks.
Bulging discs are nothing to take lightly, especially in basketball. Every jump ends in a hard plant into the ground that leads to severe compression of the spine. The fact McAdoo has been playing through the pain for so long is part admirable and part dangerous.
James is slated to be a first round pick in the NBA; playing hurt puts a legitimate risk on his career as we've seen happen to Jared Sullinger in Boston. One has to wonder if he's been hiding the issues from the training staff, or if he's been pressured to play through it because UNC can't afford to lose his 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds he brings a game.
In a similar situation to McAdoo is the nation's leading scorer and Lehigh star point guard C.J. McCollum.
McCollum hasn't played since Jan. 5, when he broke his left foot during a 59-55 loss at Virginia Commonwealth. The school had given a possible recovery time of eight-to-10 weeks, which presented the possibility of McCollum being available for the conference tournament.
Coach Brett Reed is preparing his team for life without their point guard, but you'd have to imagine there will be some pressure to get him back on the floor. The smart thing would be for him to sit out the tournament, but it'll be hard to deny a player who may have professional aspirations from being able to play on the biggest stage of his career.
The NCAA needs to start looking into establishing some tougher guidelines for player safety when it comes to returning from injury or even reporting it as student-athletes are taking too big of risks in their decisions to try and play through pain without understanding the real consequences.
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