After suffering a brutal loss to rival NC State, North Carolina desperately needed Henri Veesaar to end his injury hiatus against Syracuse. It took until the final seconds, but the Tar Heels' star center is officially back on the court.

Veesaar was listed on the injury report as questionable all week before getting the green light within minutes of tip-off. North Carolina waited until after warm-ups to re-evaluate him, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on ‘College GameDay.'

The warm-ups evidently went well, and Veesaar found himself back in the starting lineup on Saturday. Veesaar started alongside Seth Trimble, Jarin Stevenson, Derek Dixon and Luka Bogavac.

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North Carolina is still without leading scorer Caleb Wilson, but getting Veesaar back is a big win for Hubert Davis. Veesaar has evolved into one of the best centers in the country in Chapel Hill, averaging 16.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocks, while leading the team with a 44.8 percent three-point clip.

Veesaar's return, even if at less than 100 percent, is a massive lift for the Tar Heels. North Carolina has floundered in its last two games without Wilson and Veesaar, only mustering 58 points in an embarrassing 24-point loss to NC State on Tuesday.

Sophomore Zayden High started the last two games without Veesaar and tied Stevenson with a team-high 13 points against NC State. Stevenson has been the biggest individual beneficiary of the Tar Heels' injuries, entering the Syracuse matchup off three consecutive double-digit outings.

With Wilson potentially out for the remainder of the 2025-2026 college basketball regular season, North Carolina needs Veesaar to lead it to the postseason. The 20-6 Tar Heels are currently projected to be a No. 4 to No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with massive games against Louisville, Clemson and Duke still looming.