For LSU, it's all about Ty's toe

Today in our story, underdog fans everywhere – particularly those of the Duke footprint – hope No. 1 seed North Carolina stubs its proverbial toe in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this afternoon against No. 8 seed LSU in a 4:45 p.m. game at Greensboro Coliseum.

Perhaps the most famous toe in the history of Carolina sports would not cooperate with reporters on Friday.

Cameras circled North Carolina star point guard Ty Lawson’s injured right big toe Friday afternoon in the Tar Heels’ locker room as trainers feverishly worked on the big digit. The toe had no comment.

Slowly, a trainer unwrapped the bandages like in that vintage, “Eye of the Beholder” Twilight Zone episode in which the character played by Baton Rouge area native Donna Douglas (Ellie May from the Beverly Hillbillies) has undergone a medical procedure to make her face normal.

Ty’s toe is not as beautiful as Douglas’ visage, though it looked pretty normal. But cosmetics are not the issue here. It’s how the toe feels, and Lawson has not played on it since the regular season finale against Duke on March 8.

“I don’t know,” Lawson said while on the trainer’s table. “I still haven’t been on it. It’s not swollen anymore. It’s just stiff. I’m just going to go out there and see how it feels.”

Lawson was scheduled to practice on it Friday afternoon, then be checked for swelling at 11:30 last night with the ultimate test being in today’s pre-game.

“OK, uh, I don’t know,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said with a smile as he opened a press conference Friday. “He has to get through without any swelling and see how he feels (Saturday). So, it will be a game-time decision more than likely.”

This was day 15 of Ty’s Toe. There have been routine toe updates by the various papers' websites in the area. Reportedly, the Research Triangle is busy working on it.

Lawson aggravated the toe during a practice before that Duke game when he ran into the goal support. X-rays showed the toe was previously broken, then healed and then was aggravated in that practice, but Lawson does not remember breaking it. And the story thickens. Lawson also had a somewhat mysterious ankle injury last season that made him miss six conference games. Could it be Lawson?

The toe was shot up so Lawson could play in that Duke game, and he scored 13 points with nine assists in 36 minutes of a 79-71 win. But Lawson, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year averaging 16 points and nearly seven assists a game, was not himself. His game, and thus North Carolina’s game, is based on his cheetah-like speed with all 10 in-shoe starters firing, and he was missing a claw.

Then, when the shot wore off, the big toe grew so swollen it looked like a paw. More shots were ruled out, and Lawson was held out of the ACC Tournament, where the Heels lost to Florida State in the second round.

Lawson tried to practice on it before the NCAA Tournament, but he really couldn’t do much. So he was held out of North Carolina’s 101-58 win Thursday over No. 16 seed Radford, which the Heels could have beat with toes tied behind their back.

Replacement point guard Bobby Frasor is only adequate.

LSU is not Duke, but it is surely not Radford either. Four-time All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough may score 30 today and guard Wayne Ellington may get 20 for North Carolina, but the Heels may need Ty’s toe to kick LSU out of the dance.

“I’ve been a college coach 31 years, and I’ve never had a player that can accelerate at that speed,” Williams said of Lawson. “He can turn it from 0 to whatever as fast as anybody I’ve seen. He can run past people dribbling it when they’re running. He puts tremendous pressure on a defense to make sure they get back.”

That's when he's healthy. Remove the toe of a leader, and the rest will fall?

Or as Bill Murray’s John Winger said in Stripes, “An army without a leader is like a foot without a big toe.”