North Carolina point guard Joel Berry II says ankle ’85 percent’ healthy

North Carolina players weren’t cutting teammate Joel Berry II any breaks.

The point guard’s ankle has been a topic of scrutiny heading into Saturday’s Final Four meeting against Oregon at University of Phoenix Stadium. When coach Roy Williams was asked about Berry’s ankle at a Friday news conference, Justin Jackson chimed in.

“He’s had three off days in a row,” Jackson said.

Teammate Theo Pinson added: “He better play.”

Berry said there’s no question about that.

Berry fully participated in practice Friday, a day after taking the day off to rehabilitate and rest his ailing ankles. He twisted his left ankle in the Elite Eight game against Kentucky. He previously had twisted his right ankle earlier this season and again in a first-round victory against Texas Southern.

Berry declared himself “85 percent” healthy.

“There’s only four more days left of the season,” he said. “I have to do what I can get my body right.”

Coaching diversity: When speaking about coaching development on Thursday, senior vice president of NCAA basketball Dan Gavitt made a point to acknowledge the decrease in diversity among coaches.

“How do we continue to develop coaches that will lead our sport going forward?” he asked. “And how do we ensure that pool is diverse? I think we’ve lost some diversity, especially at the highest level of our game.”

According to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports’ annual report card, 23.8 percent of college basketball coaches were coaches of color in 2015 (the last available analyzed numbers).

South Carolina coach Frank Martin, a first-generation Cuban-American, said he sees the “responsibility” that comes with coaching in the Final Four.

“It’s not about us,” he said Friday. “It’s about the others that have helped us understand how to manage things to get to this moment. And then for us to give back and open doors for others like us to have the faith, the belief that they can do this one day too.”

Layups: South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell said he feels better after sitting out Thursday’s practice with an illness. “I always knew I was playing no matter what,” he said. … North Carolina’s Pinson provided comedic relief again. Known for crashing press conferences, he sneaked into teammate Berry’s interview session to surprise him. He also ran quickly on stage to take questions along with Williams, who , “That’s harder than he ran back on defense all frickin’ year.”