CLEMSON, SC – Harrison’s wrist is bothering him, and it has for nearly a month.
He says it isn't not all that painful, but is a hindrance at times, perhaps most notably when he’s attempting contested shots in the lane, which is a big part of the wing forward’s game.
So, how and when did it happen?
With 2:54 remaining in the first half of North Carolina’s narrow loss to Kentucky in Atlanta on December 16, Ingram was clobbered by UK’s Ugonna Onyen in transition and crashed to the floor. At first, it appeared a possible head injury was Ingram’s greatest worry, as the back of his head clanked off the court.
But it was his right wrist he used to brace the fall that was the problem, and it remains one.
“I’m dealing with a little sprain or hypertension, whatever you want to call it,” Ingram said following UNC’s win at Clemson on Saturday. “I just call it a sprain in my right wrist.”
Up to the very possession in which the 6-foot-7 transfer from Stanford was injured, he was having an excellent season shooting 48.1 percent from the floor, including 46.5 percent from 3-point range.
Since that sequence, however, Ingram is 11-for-42 from the field (26.2 percent), though his perimeter shooting isn’t off too much, as he’s 7-for-18, which is 38.9 percent.
Ingram has deflected using it as an excuse, but when pressed standing outside the Tar Heels’ locker room in the bowels of Littlejohn Coliseum, he caved some.
“It does play into it a little bit,” Ingram acknowledged.
The complication of healing a bad wrist in the midst of a season is a daily challenge for Ingram and UNC’s Head Athletic Trainer Doug Halverson. There is a delicate balance to doing this, though it's not easy.
“I’ve been trying to nurse it and play through it,” Ingram said, before expressing some optimism. “And soon I’ll be okay.
He was certainly okay in one of the biggest moments during Saturday’s crucial Carolina victory.
Clemson entered the game averaging 9.7 made 3-pointers per contest, and were among the top perimeter shooting teams in the nation at 39.0 percent. But the Tigers missed their first 12 on the afternoon until Chauncey Wiggins drained one with 13:20 remaining giving Clemson a 41-39 lead.
Sixteen seconds later, however, Ingram caught a feed from RJ Davis and sank a three himself giving Carolina (11-3,3-0 ACC) the lead. Clemson tied the Heels again, but never led again.
The wrist hasn’t affected Ingram’s overall game, however. He’s handed out 12 assists versus six turnovers since the injury, and his rebound totals in the last four games have been seven, seven, 15, and four.
On the season, the Dalla, TX, native is averaging 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and is shooting 43.2 percent overall from the floor, including 42.6 percent from the petimeter.
Even with a bum wrist, Ingram continues making winning plays for the seventh-ranked Heels, who next play Wednesday night at 11-3 (3-0 ACC) NC State. And who knows, maybe the wrist nurturing will pay off and Ingram will be more pain-free when he takes the court.
