By R.L. Bynum
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — For 10 days, Henri Veesaar could only watch.
An Achilles flare-up after the Miami game on Feb. 10 forced Carolina’s 7-footer to the sideline. There were no practices between that game and Friday. No rhythm. Just treatment, patience and the hope that he’d feel like himself again before the postseason push.
“Just rested a week and kept doing treatment, and then kind of did my first running drills on Wednesday. It felt good,” Veesaar said after scoring 19 points and blocking three shots in the No. 16 Tar Heels’ 77–64 victory Saturday over Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome. “Then we did a workout and did a team practice on Friday, and then I felt good for that, too. So, we felt like we’re good to go for the game, because it didn’t really hurt.”
The tape on his Achilles wasn’t new, but being bad enough to miss three games was.
“I’ve had that. I feel like the tape is just kind of preventive. It’s just normal,” he said. “Sometimes, I feel like it would take some load off it. It just kind of helped with the condition.”
There was little panic internally, even when the soreness lingered.
“I feel like it was just something that was nagging, and then just building on that,” Veesaar said. “And then after Miami, it flared up in that game, and then I was able to get through that game. But then we felt like we needed to take a little bit of time off for me to get back to the form I need to play at and just be able to go 100% on the court.”
By Saturday at Syracuse, he was back — and North Carolina looked whole again in a 77–64 win.
Coach Hubert Davis limited Veesaar in his first full practice on Friday and kept him questionable until pregame warmups.
“It’s easier because he’s a guy that can consistently score in the paint, he can shoot from three, he can pass, and there’s a lot of attention on him,” Davis said. “From a defensive standpoint, not even necessarily blocking shots, just his size to be able to alter shots, it’s just huge.”
Veesaar played nearly 26 minutes, which is more than Davis wanted him to play. But the junior transfer from Arizona kept telling Davis he felt good and rewarded him.
He was a steady interior presence who helped disrupt Syracuse star Donnie Freeman, who was scoreless in the first half after scoring 23 in Chapel Hill earlier this season, and finished with only nine points.
“I think when we played him in Chapel Hill, we did a good job guarding him, but he just hit a lot of tough shots,” said Veesaar, the only player in the country with at least 40 dunks and at least 30 3-pointers. “But today, we kind of expected it. So, we made him pass the ball out and doubled him in the first half. Tried to get him frustrated, not let him get his shots up. So, I felt like it messed up his rhythm a little bit.”
The big man admitted there was some rust.
“I had a couple turnovers that are unusual, that I shouldn’t have, a couple of weak moments where I just needed a rhythm and just got used to playing,” he said.
But physically, he felt like himself.
“It felt great,” Veesaar said. “It felt much better than the day before.”
Freshman point guard Derek Dixon said that Veesaar’s presence changes the way the team plays on both ends.
“Henri’s a great player, obviously, when he’s out there, [he’s] doing great things for us, and he’s really big for us,” Dixon said.
His return also allowed North Carolina to pair him with Zayden High, whose emergence over the last three games has changed the team’s frontcourt dynamic.
When Veesaar was watching the last three games from the bench, he saw High play better. On Saturday, High elevated his game and played alongside Veesaar at times.
Veesaar said that having High as a big part of the rotation, rather than a guy who comes in for a few minutes, makes Carolina more versatile.
“I think that just helps the whole team out. Helps him out,” Veesaar said. “Just him being able to get that confidence, the way he has had, the way he’s played. He’s kind of showing and proven himself how good he is and how much it can help the whole team. I play less. He gets to play more. They have more options.”
After a week and a half of rest, treatment and uncertainty, Veesaar didn’t just return. He restored balance, size and confidence to a team that looks far more dangerous with him on the floor finally feeling like himself again.
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