Greater N.C. Pro-Am underway

DURHAM — Leslie McDonald is back in action.

After missing the entire 2011-12 North Carolina men’s basketball season with an ACL injury, the 6-foot-5-inch wing man returned to the floor in the same gym he hurt himself in last summer.

But Thursday night at North Carolina Central’s McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium, everything looked just fine — knee and all.

McDonald has been cleared by doctors to play for several months, but the Pro-Am marks his first game, albeit a glorified pick up game, in public.

“It felt good. It felt good to play back in this tournament again,” McDonald said. “A lot of guys were telling me don’t play in it, but I’m a basketball player. I love basketball, so this is the tournament around and I’m going to play in it. I felt pretty good running up and down the court, getting some shots, passing to open people. I felt good.”

The Greater N.C. Pro-Am is hosted by Jerry Stackhouse and the Triple Threat Foundation and it presents some of the best local college talent playing along side professionals, many who also played in or are from the triangle. The league runs through the first week in August.

McDonald and North Carolina teammate P.J. Hairston, playing together for the Sheraton Imperial team alongside former Tar Heel Rasheed Wallace, opened up the annual summer league by beating the Dreamworks squad 66-58.

McDonald led the charge early and had 13 quick points putting his squad on top 20-4 in the first quarter.

That stretch included three fast break possessions, each one getting more exciting.

He scored the first bucket of the game on a easy lay-up after coming up with a loose ball and a few plays later he finished off the break with a swift one-handed jam.

“I saw the man behind me and I didn’t want to be too aggressive,” McDonald said about that first breakaway attempt. “I just wanted to score the points. I’m a little bit cautious but at the same time I’m going to play my game.”

Minutes later, bringing the ball down the sideline, McDonald hit a leaping Hairston for the crowd-pleasing alley-oop.

Later Hairston would return the favor.

The duo combined for 40 points as McDonald scored 21 and Hairston pitched in 19. Though defense wasn’t necessarily stellar on the night both Tar Heels exhibited some range with a handful of three-pointers.

“It felt pretty good,” McDonald said about his jumpshot. “I’ve been working on it all summer.”

Several other current Tar Heels are on rosters in the Pro-Am and while some of them were in attendance for the opening game, McDonald and Hairston were to the only two that played Thursday.

Reggie Bullock, James Michael McAdoo, Joel James and J.P. Tokoto are all on rosters on the NC Pro-Am’s website.

The league is taking next week off for the Fourth of July but action resumes July 10.