Leslie McDonald shakes off rust in first game

For the first time all season, redshirt senior Leslie McDonald ditched the suit and tie UNC fans have become accustomed to seeing him in and laced up his basketball shoes.

Finally cleared by the NCAA after receiving impermissible benefits, he made his season debut when he checked into UNC’s 86-83 loss to Texas with 16 minutes and 41 seconds to play in the first half.

Even though he traded his dress attire for a jersey, he couldn’t instantly shake the rust that he’s accumulated as a spectator in UNC’s first nine games.

But less than four minutes into his return, it looked like he never left.

McDonald buried his first 3-pointer of the season with 12:50 to play in the first half, making his return official. His first 3-pointer cracked that coat of rust, and each additional swish of the net shook another layer off.

McDonald finished with 15 points in the game, shooting 4-for-9 from behind the 3-point line in 22 minutes of playing time. With his four 3-pointers, he became only the second Tar Heel to make more than two for the entire season.

“I expected to be a little rusty. It’s a quick turnaround,” McDonald said. “I just wanted to play my heart out.”

McDonald returned to a team that already boasts wins against the preseason top three teams, but coach Roy Williams was quick to quell any speculation that his return was anything but positive.

“That’s a bunch of garbage,” Williams said. “Leslie was a positive, it didn’t have anything to do with Leslie being a negative.”

Sophomore guard Marcus Paige echoed that sentiment, saying that McDonald’s presence on the floor took the pressure off of his shoulders by adding a consistent second perimeter threat that UNC has lacked up until this point in the season.

“He helped us out a lot today by stretching the floor,” Paige said “He’s a good shooter, a consistent shooter, something we don’t have other than myself.

“I can’t see it as a negative, I think it’s definitely a positive.”

While McDonald may have shaken off much of his rust from behind the 3-point line, he joined the rest of the Tar Heels in struggling from the free throw line, shooting only 3-for-8.

“I know I’m better than that, I’m known to shoot a high percentage from the free-throw line,” McDonald said.

His rust showed again late in the game. When UNC called a play that was designed to get the ball to Paige off of a double screen, McDonald drove the ball away from the play. It was a mistake Williams attributed to his lack of repetitions with the starters.

Despite his mistakes, McDonald said he was overjoyed to be back on the court with the guys he called his family. But his return didn’t pan out exactly the way he would’ve hoped. He called it bittersweet because he and the rest of the Tar Heels fell short of victory.

McDonald’s mistakes weren’t back-breaking for UNC. You could point to myriad misses from the free-throw line and Texas’ ability to rebound the ball seemingly at will. But with McDonald solidly back in the lineup for the Tar Heels, he could perhaps be a difference-maker in future close games — by shaking off another layer of rust.