UNC Basketball: Joel Berry II expected to play against Kentucky

North Carolina’s Joel Berry II expected to make return against Kentucky

After sitting out his team’s last two games, Joel Berry II will likely return to North Carolina’s lineup on Saturday against Kentucky.

Berry suffered a sprained left ankle two weeks ago in the Tar Heels’ 95-50 victory over Radford that forced him out of the game as well as missing subsequent games against Davidson and Tennessee.

Berry’s injury and availability for UNC’s game against Kentucky have been talked about at length this week, but it was unknown what his status would be for this weekend’s CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas.

Until the Carolina basketball Twitter account sent out the following tweet on Friday evening:

Joel Berry expected to play tomorrow vs Kentucky. Has missed last two games due to sprained ankle. Practiced the last two days. #UNCBBall

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) December 17, 2016

The tweet left very little room for misinterpretation, stating that the Tar Heels’ star point guard had practiced the previous two days and is expected to participate in Saturday’s marquee non-conference matchup with the Wildcats.

In nine games, Berry is averaging 14.8 points, 4.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 42 percent from three-point range and leads the team in made threes. He’s also the team’s best free-throw shooter, hitting nearly 92 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe.

Nov 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) shoots over Tulane Green Wave guard Colin Slater (14) during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. North Carolina defeated Tulane 95-75. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

And while other players have stepped up in Berry’s absence, he’s proven to be the team’s most irreplaceable piece, which is no surprise on a Roy Williams coached team. In years past, injuries to Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson and particularly Kendall Marshall, have proven costly for the Tar Heels.

Fortunately, UNC doesn’t appear to be without its most important player any longer.

And although we are unaware of his official status or availability for Saturday’s game in Sin City, anything less than 100 percent from Berry could prove costly against an upstart Kentucky team that has lost just once this season.