Since the Feb. 10 loss to Miami, North Carolina and Hubert Davis have unfortunately been without standout big man Henri Veesaar, who has been sidelined with an illness and lower extremity injury. We all saw how much Veesaar was missed in the mid-week loss to NC State.
Syracuse is the perfect matchup for UNC to fix a major problem without Henri Veesaar
With Syracuse up next on Saturday, will the Arizona transfer be able to hit the hardwood? That's what the UNC faithful have been hoping for, but Veesaar hasn't been able to practice. On Friday, though, Davis revealed that the standout will put on his sneakers and participate, but on a limited basis:
Hubert Davis pre-Syracuse press conference is going on right now, and he gave an update on Henri Veesaar:
— Andrew Jones (@AJTarHeel247) February 20, 2026
“He’s getting better every day. Had an individual workout yesterday. He’s planning on participating in practice today; limited basis. But he is still questionable. So,… pic.twitter.com/xCEpecYtJU
UNC big man Henri Veesaar remains questionable to take on Syracuse this weekend
In trying to read what Davis just said on Veesaar, it's clear that nothing has changed in terms of his status to take on the Orange. There continues to be plenty of pessimism that Veesaar will be able to play, but the fact that he's returning to practice is good news.
North Carolina of course isn't going to rush Veesaar back too soon, as Davis and Co. are going to want him as close to 100 percent as possible. Keep in mind too that North Carolina also has a huge showdown against Louisville coming on Monday night in Chapel Hill.
Veesaar's status for that contest is also unknown at this time. Before going down with his injury, the 7-0, 225-pounder was averaging 16.4 points and nine rebounds per game, second on the team to Caleb Wilson's 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per showing.
Wilson also remains out due to a fracture in his left hand. There's also no set date for when the 5-star freshman will be able to return. Not having both Wilson and Veesaar is going to continue to hurt the Tar Heels moving forward, but luckily the two didn't suffer season-ending issues. For now, we're all going to have to wait and see when they'll get cleared to play again, with Veesaar expected to be more on the sooner side.