Louisville PG Chucky Hepburn, C James Scott to Play at NC State

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program will be at (relatively) full strength when they take on NC State.

Point guard Chucky Hepburn, who leads the Cardinals in points and assists per game, and leads the ACC in steals per game, as well as center James Scott, Louisville's leader in blocks, dunks, and their second-leading rebounder, will both start in today's game at NC State, the program announced prior to tip-off.

Hepburn suffered a groin injury in Louisville's 84-58 win at Boston College on Feb. 12. He sustained the injury early in the second half, then walked back to the locker room with trainers. While he returned to the bench area shortly afterwards, he never re-entered the game.

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

As for Scott, he had his two front teeth knocked out in their 88-78 win over the Miami this past Saturday. Nine minutes into the game, Canes forward Brandon Johnson landed on Scott's head while the two were in pursuit of a loose ball. Scott had to exit the gamewith 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. Despite having pieces of his teeth lodged so far into his gums that they had to be extracted, Kelsey remained confident that his big man would be able to play vs. the Wolfpack.

"In terms of James, we're very, very confident that he's going to play," Kelsey said Monday. "He was extremely frustrated that he couldn't go right back in the game the other day."

Hepburn has played a critical role in Louisville's success in Kelsey's first year at the helm. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard is averaging 15.0 points, 6.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game - all of which are career-highs. The transfer from Wisconsin's assist and steals marks are 14th and 16th in D1, respectively

As for Scott, he is averaging 7.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 blocks per game. The 6-foot-11, 210-pound big man is shooting 75.8 percent from the field, primarily due to his prowess as a dunker. 52 of the Charleston transfer's 75 made baskets are dunks, putting him at a tie for fifth on Louisville's single-season dunk leaderboard.

Tip-off between Louisville (18-6, 11-2 ACC) and NC State (9-14, 2-10 ACC) is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Bob DeChiara - Imagn Images)

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