Louisville's Chucky Hepburn Still 'Day-to-Day,' James Scott Probable at NC State

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While the status of one starter for the Louisville men's basketball program is still up in the air, another is trending towards not missing any time.

Head coach Pat Kelsey announced Monday on the weekly ACC Coaches Call that point guard Chucky Hepburn is still "day-to-day" after suffering a groin injury back on Feb. 5 at Boston College. However, he is "confident" that center James Scott, who had his two front teeth knocked out in the previous game vs. Miami, will be able to play on Wednesday at NC State.

"Chucky continues to be day-to-day as we see how he continues to progress," Kelsey said. "We're hopeful about Wednesday, but nothing's for sure yet, or set in stone.

"In terms of James, we're very, very confident that he's going to play," Kelsey added. "He was extremely frustrated that he couldn't go right back in the game the other day. But it was much more than just a tooth popping out. He had both front teeth knocked out, and then it got pushed so far up into his gum that they had to go in and extract pieces. It was a lot more extensive than just getting your tooth knocked out, which is pretty extensive anyway."

Hepburn sustained the groin injury at the 15:15 mark of the second half against the Eagles, then walked back to the locker room with trainers. While he returned to the bench area shortly afterwards, he was ruled "questionable" to return, and never re-entered the game. He finished with 12 points, three assists and two rebounds in 24 minutes.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard has played a critical role in Louisville's success in Kelsey's first year at the helm. Hepburn entered the matchup vs. Boston College averaging 15.1 points, 6.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game - all of which are career-highs. The transfer from Wisconsin's assist and steals marks are both 15th in D1.

Around the 11:13 mark of the first half, Scott took a hard fall, with Miami forward Brandon Johnson landing on his head while in pursuit of a loose ball. Scott had to exit the game with a noticeably bloody mouth, and a stoppage in play was needed to clean some blood off of the court. Scott was subsequently taken to an off-site dentist, finishing the game with three rebounds and two assists, missing his only shot attempt.

The 6-foot-11, 210-pound big man entered the matchup vs. Miami averaging 7.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 blocks per game. His 76.5 field goal percentage not only leads the team, his 78.7 percent mark on two-point tries leads all of D1 hoops. 52 of his 75 made baskets are dunks, putting him at a tie for fifth on Louisville's single-season dunk leaderboard.

Louisville (18-6, 11-2 ACC) is set to travel to NC State (9-14, 2-10 ACC) on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of James Scott: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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