Ty Lawson is starting to feel better, just in time for North Carolina.

The speedy point guard said his troublesome toe is still achy after returning to the lineup over the weekend, but he plans to play in the Tar Heels' game against Gonzaga on Friday. And coach Roy Williams also sounds optimistic, too, that the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year will be ready for the NCAA tournament's round of 16.

"It's getting better," Lawson said yesterday. "I'm walking on it better. Hopefully in a couple of days, it'll be back to 100 percent."

Lawson had missed three straight games with a jammed right big toe before helping the top-seeded Tar Heels (30-4) rally past LSU in Saturday's second-round game in the South Regional. He experienced some minor swelling in the toe afterward, but nothing like what followed the regular-season finale against Duke that forced him to the sideline.

He participated in the team's shootaround Monday and expected to go through some drills during practice this week. But the team has been cautious, keeping him out of practice for almost two weeks, in addition to missing both of the Tar Heels' ACC tournament games and their NCAA opener against Radford.

Lawson injured the toe in practice two days before the Duke game and needed a painkilling shot beforehand. He nearly had a triple-double in 36 minutes in the win, but the toe swelled unexpectedly afterward.

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH

ALABAMA GIVEN PERMISSION TO SPEAK WITH COACH GRANT

Anthony Grant, who has led Virginia Commonwealth University to the NCAA tournament twice in the past three seasons, is again a popular figure as major conference schools look for a coach.

Alabama athletic director Mal Moore received permission from VCU's Norwood Teague over the weekend to speak to Grant about its coaching vacancy, Teague said.

So far, Alabama is the only one to have asked, Teague said.

VCU pays Grant a base salary of $400,000, with bonuses and incentives that boost his pay to nearly $1 million.

Potential suitors for Grant that already have vacancies are Georgia and perhaps Virginia.

Grant, 42, spent 12 years as Billy Donovan's right-hand man, including 10 at Florida, before taking over as the Rams' coach when Jeff Capel left for Oklahoma three years ago.

ELSEWHERE

Liberty: Seth Curry, the high-scoring younger brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry, says he is transferring out of Liberty to seek a higher level of competition. Curry, 6 feet 3 and 180 pounds, led the nation's freshmen with a 20.2 scoring average.