Bacot Adds Shoulder To Growing List Of Injuries

BLOOMINGTON, IN – Armando Bacot knows all too well about working through debilitating injuries during a basketball season.

One of the bigger storylines of UNC’s run to the national title game last season was Bacot’s ankle, which was injured, re-injured, and re-injured again, worsening each time, at the Final Four in New Orleans.

So, just eight games into the new season, Bacot’s ankle is banged up again, and in Wednesday’s 77-65 loss at Indiana, the senior forward added another ailment to the growing list: his right shoulder.

Bacot blocked a shot by Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis just 2:54 into the contest, and immediately started holding his shoulder. He was removed from the game at the 15:54 mark and went to the locker room. Although he played 28 minutes, the 6-foot-10 Virginian said he was significantly limited.

“All I could use is my lower body,” he said after the defeat. “I couldn’t pump, I couldn’t arm guard. It didn’t feel good.”

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In saying lower body, he really meant a range from his knees to his torso. It was an awkward combination that rendered the Preseason ACC Player of the Year marginal at best compared to his norm.

“I like to work on the left block (on offense), and I really couldn’t create any separation,” he said. “And with post defense, I couldn’t arm and (tried) my right arm, but it created too much tension. It hindered me in that way.”

This came on the heels of an ankle injury in Portland that required near-constant attention from team trainer Doug Halverson. Bacot sat the last 5:56 of UNC’s four-overtime loss to Alabama on Sunday, and spent the next two-plus days getting treatment.

UNC (5-3) Coach Hubert Davis said in a zoom interview Tuesday that Bacot was practicing and would play against the No. 10 Hoosiers, but it took a great deal of work to get him onto the court.

“Doug did a god job of preparing me for this game,” Bacot said. “We’ve been working hours and hours and hours every day. Credit to him for getting (me ready.”

But Bacot was clearly not close to 100 percent. Lacking quickness and spring, the fortunate thing for him is that it’s actually a different injury than the one he suffered in New Orleans.

Bacot says the ankle injury is different from the one last April. It’s the same ankle, but this problem is on the inside, when last spring it was the outside.