One of No. 9 Duke's projected starters is out indefinitely with a broken wrist.
Team officials said Thursday that freshman Mason Plumlee fell hard during practice a day earlier and broke his left wrist. They say he injury will not require surgery, and will be evaluated weekly by the team's medical staff.
The 6-foot-10 newcomer was expected to join his older brother Miles Plumlee in the Blue Devils' bulked-up frontcourt. He averaged 12 points and eight rebounds in a pair of exhibition routs.
That makes two projected starters who won't be in the lineup tonight when Duke opens the season against UNCG. Guard Nolan Smith must sit out two games for playing in an unsanctioned summer league.
MEN'S SIGNINGS
NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina signed two athletes to National Letters of Intent. The Tar Heels signed 6-foot-7 guard Reggie Bullock from Kinston and 6-4 point guard Kendall Marshall.
WOMEN'S SIGNINGS
UNCG: UNCG has signed 5-foot-6 guard Breonna Patterson of Dudley High School in Greensboro and 6-1 forward Nneka Awuruonye of Charlotte Providence Day School to National Letters of Intent.
Patterson helped Dudley to a 30-3 mark and a 3-A state title as a junior last season. She was the Triad 3-A Conference defensive player of the year and a second-team all-area selection by the News & Record in 2008-09. She averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game and scored 23 points in the state championship game to lead the Panthers past Gastonia Forestview, 60-58.
Awuruonye (pronounced NEH-ka ah-RUN-yay) helped the Chargers to a 25-5 record and the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association's 3-A title game in 2008-09, her first season at the school. She averaged 11 points and eight rebounds per game after an all-conference season at Charlotte's South Mecklenburg High School in 2007-08.
N.C. STATE: N.C. State coach Kellie Harper received signed National Letters of Intent from 5-foot-5 point guard Myisha Goodwin of Lorton, Va., 6-1 power forward Kody Burke of Riverside, Calif., 5-9 wing Devin Griffin of Lubbock, Texas, and 5-11 wing Nashika "Breezy" Williams of Durham.
MISCELLANY
VIRGINIA: New Virginia men's basketball coach Tony Bennett has already experienced some bumps in the road on the way to his debut with the Cavaliers tonight against Longwood. Bennett suspended 7-foot sophomore center Assane Sene for the first three games of the season for conduct detrimental to the team, and then lost senior forward Jamil Tucker when he took an indefinite leave of absence from the team to attend to some personal issues. "It's an opportunity for other guys on our team," Bennett said this week.
TOP 25
NO. 16 OHIO STATE 72, JAMES MADISON 44: Evan Turner scored 24 points and pulled down 17 rebounds and 16th-ranked Ohio State recovered from a listless spell to beat James Madison in the 2K Sports Classic. The Buckeyes advance to meet sixth-ranked defending national champion North Carolina in the semifinals Thursday night in Madison Square Garden. Syracuse and No. 13 California are the other matchup.
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