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North Carolina shooting guard P.J. Hairston, a freshman from Greensboro who starred at Dudley, is questionable for Saturday’s game at top-ranked Kentucky because of a sprained left wrist and bruised bone.

The 6-foot-6 Hairston, who has emerged as the first player off No. 5 Carolina’s bench, hurt his left wrist trying to draw a charge during the second half of Wednesday night’s 60-57 victory over No. 9 Wisconsin.

Hairston braced his fall with his non-shooting left hand, left the game and was unable to return. Medical tests Thursday showed a sprain and bruise but no fracture, UNC officials said in a news release.

During the morning Hairston wrote on Twitter:

“#tarheelnation don’t worry about anything, I’ll be fine. Not a fracture or broken, I’ll be back ripping the net soon.”

A few minutes later, Hairston posted:

“Sorry to say but I will not be playing Saturday!”

The game is scheduled for noon on WFMY-2.

Hairston went into the Wisconsin game leading UNC reserves with 9.7 points per game. He played a season-low nine minutes against the Badgers and was scoreless for the first time, shooting 0-for-4.

Hairston is 14-for-31 (45.2 percent) from 3-point range, the best on the team.

Starting guards Kendall Marshall (3-for-11) and Dexter Strickland (0-for-0) have shot few 3-pointers.

Without Hairston, the Heels top 3-point threats are reserve Reggie Bullock (11-for-25) and Harrison Barnes (7-for-18).

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com