The North Carolina Tar Heels won’t officially begin the 2023-24 college basketball season for another 9 or so days when they host Radford on November 6th. But on Friday night, they hosted an exhibition to get ready for the upcoming week of practice and then the season.
As North Carolina dominated the exhibition, getting a look at the new roster for the season, one newcomer had to leave the game early. In the first half, former Notre Dame standout Cormac Ryan suffered a foot injury and left the game.
He did not return as it was just an exhibition. But after the game, head coach Hubert Davis provided a key update to Ryan’s status. And it’s good news.
Davis said that Ryan tweaked his ankle and he could have gone back into the game if needed.
Good news from Coach Hubert Davis on Cormac Ryan’s ankle:
“Just a little tweak. He could’ve gone back into the game. I decided not to play him in the 2nd half.”
— Isaac Schade (@isaacschade) October 28, 2023
That’s certainly good news.
I imagine if this was a regular season game Ryan would be back in if needed for the Tar Heels. Here, UNC didn’t want to push him as it was just an exhibition and there’s no need to risk further injury.
Ryan is expected to be a key piece for UNC this season, transferring over from Notre Dame this offseason. And avoiding a major injury is certainly great news.
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