Hansbrough out indefinitely

North Carolina's preseason No. 1 ranking took a Psycho-T-sized hit Thursday night.

Senior forward Tyler Hansbrough a three-time first team All-America is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his right shin.

Hansbrough sat out practice Thursday and had an MRI which revealed the stress reaction.

There is no timetable for Hansbrough's return and coach Roy Williams will not issue a statement until Friday after he has had a chance to meet with UNC medical staff.

Hansbrough's injury is the first to take him off the court in his UNC career. He has played in all 108 games during his first three years at Chapel Hill even playing through a broken nose his sophomore year.

Hansbrough averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds last year en route to garnering ACC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year honors.

Compounding matters is the fact that Marcus Ginyard who started at small forward in 2008 is already sidelined for six to eight weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot.

The announcement comes hard on the heels of North Carolina's preseason unanimous No. 1 ranking based largely on the strength of all five starters returning.

Two of those starters are now down for at least the opening portion of the season opening up opportunities for UNC's talented freshman class.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.