Maybe if P.J. Hairston didn’t have the summer he had, and maybe if he and Leslie McDonald had never been suspended, J.P. Tokoto wouldn’t be No. 14 North Carolina’s starting small forward. Maybe Tokoto wouldn’t be playing much at all. Maybe he wouldn’t be having the season he’s having.
On Friday, Tokoto and the rest of Tar Heels finally got a resolution to the Hairston saga — it wasn’t the one they wanted — but it did at least provide some sort of clarity. Tokoto said Friday that it was “kind of a relief and kind of sad, too.”
It also provided the Tar Heels the chance to figure out who they are as a team.
“We’re kind of using him as fuel right now,” Tokoto said.
But in Tokoto’s mind, Hairston’s absence doesn’t impact his own role in the slightest.
“My role has been the same,” Tokoto said. “Attack the boards, be an offensive threat when needed, be a defensive stopper for coach and the team and whatever we need. Just be that person. I had it in my mind that I was going to be (that person) with P.J. or without him.”
On Saturday, in UNC’s (8-3) 97-85 overtime win against Davidson, Tokoto was all of that and more.
The sophomore forward posted career highs in virtually every statistic: eight field goals, five free throws in six attempts, 22 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and five steals. With UNC’s two leading scorers — Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson — being held without a field goal until the second half, Tokoto kept UNC afloat, scoring 14 of its 38 first-half points.
“He brought a lot of energy tonight, and he got a couple of things to go early for him, and I think that was big for his confidence so then he could knock down that little mid-range jump shot or crash the boards,” Paige said. “He got a lot of key rebounds for us. That was his A-game tonight, and we needed it especially because I struggled and Brice struggled … he really kept us in the game.”
