Frasor may miss UNC opener with ankle sprain

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina reserve point guard Bobby Frasor sprained his left ankle Monday and hasn't practiced since, meaning he may not play Saturday when the top-ranked Tar Heels open the season against Penn.

He would be the fourth player sidelined for the game, joining starters Tyler Hansbrough (shin) and Marcus Ginyard (foot), and reserve Michael Copeland (knee).

"Right now, I'm more apprehensive than I have been in 21 years,'' coach Roy Williams said Friday. "I'm concerned -- you choose any word you want to right there because it's really been an unsettled preseason. You've heard me say our 8, 9 and 10 are a lot better than everybody else's 8, 9 and 10. Well, when I walk out there at practice Wednesday and I don't have Tyler and I don't have Marcus and I don't have Bobby and I don't have Cope, that's four of our five seniors.

"So we spend the whole spring, summer and fall saying we want to speed up the tempo, we want to play faster, we want to make more possessions in the game, and all of a sudden we don't have the same depth that we had."

Williams said one of two freshman forwards — Tyler Zeller or Ed Davis — will start in place of Hansbrough, who definitely will not play.

-- Robbi Pickeral