Joel Berry’s ankles aren’t what they used to be.
After spraining his left one early in the season, the junior point guard entered the NCAA Tournament with a relatively clean bill of health. But in the first game against Texas Southern, he twisted his right ankle. A week later, he sprained it in practice. Then he sprained the left.
He escaped Saturday’s win unscathed, despite hitting the deck more times than he hit a shot. On Sunday, simply rolling out of bed and walking normally was deemed a success. But even if the stiffness is gone, the pain never subsides.
“You just don’t understand what I have to go through until you actually experience it,” he said.
There’s no time for recovery anymore. No. 1 seed Gonzaga awaits in Monday’s national title game, led by All-American point guard Nigel Williams-Goss — who is battling an ankle ailment of his own.
Berry admits he isn’t 100 percent. At this point in the season, nobody is. But on this stage, nothing can keep the junior on the sidelines.
“He’s one of the best point guards in the nation,” senior guard Nate Britt said. “And I know he’ll show it in the next game.”
He couldn’t show it in UNC’s 77-76 win over Oregon. And it almost cost his team.
On two sprained ankles, Berry played 35 minutes — tied for his highest total this postseason. But after hitting the first three-pointer of the game, he made just one of his next 13 shots in an 11-point effort. He missed two crucial free throws with four seconds left that nearly gave the game away, and two of his shots were blocked.
