Dexter Strickland has been playing with a slightly torn meniscus in his right knee. He could have had surgery in February, when the injury occurred, but instead chose to keep playing – not uttering a peep to fans or media about swelling or off-and-on soreness.

“I don’t use it as an excuse for my play,” Strickland said after Williams revealed the injury following the ACC tournament, when the sophomore shot 0-for-4 over three games.

Strickland has said his knee has felt better since then, and not surprisingly that’s correlated on the stat sheet. He went 8-for-14 from the floor during his first two NCAA tournament games, and his two free throws Sunday with five seconds left sealed UNC’s victory over the Huskies – and his first trip to the round of 16. Considering what Strickland has quietly meant to the team, Williams said that it was fitting that it was he at the line in that situation.

“The kids love him, they gravitate to him,” Williams said. “They understand that he hasn’t gotten the accolades, the honors that everyone else has had, but yet they understand how important he is to our team. Nobody thinks they can chase him down from behind. Nobody enjoys him guarding them. Nobody enjoys trying to stop him when he tries to take it to the basket.”