Terquavion Smith gives an update on his injury

Last night was awful all around. First off, NC State fell to rival UNC by 11. Secondly, it simply wasn’t a fairly officiated game (UNC went to the free throw line 39 times while NC State only went 12 times), and lastly Terquavion Smith went down hard on a foul and needed to be taken off in a stretcher.

The foul on UNC’s Leaky Black was excessive and warranted a Flagrant 2, which had him ejected from the game. It didn’t seem like Black was trying to hurt Smith, instead it looked like he was going for a block, swung and missed, hitting his head and sending him to the floor hard.

What are your thoughts on the Leaky Black flagrant 2 foul that ended up in Terquavion Smith leaving on a stretcher? pic.twitter.com/vy041TWGXa

— RoundBall Podcast (@roundballpod) January 22, 2023

Smith was down for almost 10 minutes with his legs squirming in pain. The good news was that there was movement, however, due to where the injury occured, no one could see much else.

From a few fan views you could see Smith down on the floor, but not moving his upper body, causing a lot of concern for everyone watching.

Scary sight in Chapel Hill… Wishing Terquavion Smith a quick recovery 🙏
pic.twitter.com/SDXIs536Js

— RoundBall Podcast (@roundballpod) January 21, 2023

He was taken off on a stretcher, tied down as if there was a serious neck injury that had occured. It seemed all but certain Smith was lost for the season as NC State confirmed that it was a neck and elbow injury. But most fans weren’t even worried about the season, but more for the future of Smith, who stayed loyal to NC State, postponing what is certain to be a future NBA career.

It was hard to focus on the rest of the game with Smith’s health hanging in the balance, but rumors started to swirl after the game that Smith had avoided the worst.

Rumor has it Smith is in good spirits at the hospital and should be released soon — it appears the stretcher was precautionary. Great news to hear.

— Ryan Williams (@RWilliams_IPS) January 22, 2023

Then overnight, Smith broke the silence with a tweet of his own.

I am fine appreciate all the prayers and concern ❤️

— Terquavion Smith (@Tgetsbuckss23) January 22, 2023

He also said this on IG…

So, at this point, this is all we know. It seems as if there is no long term neck injury, which was the biggest fear. However, when Smith says he’s ‘fine’ does he mean like fine as in, no injuries that will affect his career, or ‘fine’ as in he’ll be ready to roll Tuesday against Notre Dame?

Either way, this is great news. It looks almost certain Smith will play basketball again, the question now is, when?