By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Henri Veesaar would return to limited practice Friday while freshman star Caleb Wilson will have another evaluation next week as both players recover from injuries, North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said.
Davis said the 7-foot Veesaar returned to individual workouts Thursday and the team would see how he handled more practice work Friday as he deals with a lower-body injury. Davis called the junior questionable for the 16th-ranked Tar Heels’ game at Syracuse on Saturday.
Wilson, a high-end NBA prospect, has a fracture in his left hand and is out indefinitely.
The two are ranked 1-2 on the team in scoring and rebounding, with Wilson averaging 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds while Veesaar averages 16.4 points and 9.0 rebounds. Both have missed the past two games, most recently Tuesday’s 24-point loss at rival N.C. State.
Neither has played since a Feb. 10 loss at Miami, coming days after a thrilling last-second win against third-ranked rival Duke.
Wilson, a 6-10 forward, was hurt in the first half of that game and finished with his palm and wrist area wrapped after in-game X-rays were negative. Additional imaging two days later identified a fracture.
Wilson has indicated in multiple social-media posts he plans to return.
“He’s been in my office every day and he wants to practice today,” Davis said with a chuckle, “but I’m not going to let him.”
“What he’s doing in the weight room, what he’s doing conditioning-wise, it’s real. His ballhandling, he can shoot it. He just can’t catch it. So he does all the regular shooting drills that he does, it’s just you have to bounce pass it to him. … In terms of no-contact (work), he’s doing everything. When he comes back, he’ll be in shape, he’ll be ready to go.”