Another Tar Heel Injury - Ed Davis Breaks Wrist
CHAPEL HILL, NC - Sophomore forward Ed Davis, North Carolina’s leading rebounder and shot blocker and second-leading scorer, will be sidelined for at least six weeks with a broken bone in his left wrist, head coach Roy Williams announced this morning.
Davis broke the lunate bone in left wrist when he fell to the floor in a mid-lane collision with 9:16 to play against Duke on Feb. 10 and the game tied 43-43. He had the wrist taped and re-entered the game but did not score again. He tied his career high with six blocked shots against the Blue Devils.
Davis’s wrist will be immobilized for at least the next six weeks. Tests on Thursday revealed the fracture but showed no ligament damage. Surgery is not planned at this time.
“We’re all extremely disappointed for Ed and for our entire team,” says Williams. “It’s hard to lose any starter, but when you lose someone likely for the rest of the season who does so many different things for your team it’s a significant loss. He’s our second-leading scorer, top rebounder, shot blocker and field goal percentage shooter, so it’s a huge blow to our team. However, we have to band together and try to overcome this latest adversity caused by injury.”
Davis is one of three Tar Heel post players who are currently sidelined due to injury. Sophomore Tyler Zeller has been out of action beginning with the Clemson game on Jan. 13 with a stress fracture in his right foot. Zeller was cleared for straight-ahead running and on-court drills on Feb. 8 but is out until at least next week. Freshman Travis Wear missed the Duke game and is out indefinitely with a severely sprained left ankle.
Davis is averaging 13.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, has blocked 64 shots and is shooting 57.8 percent from the floor this season. He leads the ACC in blocked shots, is second in rebounding and would be first in field goal percentage but he has not attempted enough shots to qualify for the conference leaders.
North Carolina plays host to NC State today (Saturday, Feb. 13) at 4 p.m.
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North Carolina (13-11, 2-7) will face NC State (14-11, 2-8) in a battle of two teams trying to break a losing streak. Since their last meeting on January 26th, neither team has won an ACC game and Carolina has lost four straight. NC State lost 72-52 at home on Wednesday night to Virginia Tech. North Carolina lost that same night to Duke, 64-54. Carolina has dropped four home games in a row and the longest-ever streak is five straight, which happened in 2002. Carolina leads the series with NC State, 141-72, and has won seven in a row. Before the game begins, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will have a ceremony recognizing their jerseys being honored.
Ellington (2009 Final Four Most Outstanding Player) and Lawson (2009 first-team All-America and ACC Player of the Year) will see their jerseys honored in the Smith Center rafters during a pregame ceremony at approximately 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, 20 minutes before tipoff.
Honored jersey numbers (such as those of Ellington, Lawson and Donald Williams, who will be honored on March 2 during the Miami game) can be worn again by future players. Retired jersey numbers (like that of Hansbrough - 50) will never be worn again by future players.
