Heels' Hansbrough to miss game against UK

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough will not play against Kentucky as he continues to rest the stress reaction in his right shin.

"There's not really any change, and he will not play,'' coach Roy Williams said Monday. "We're trying to give him a little more work, but when I say that, it's more conditioning and those things as opposed to doing anything in practice."

Hansbrough, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, has been sidelined for almost three weeks with the injury, and he missed his first college game when the Tar Heels beat Penn on Saturday.

The senior is known for his work ethic, so when asked about how he's dealing with being on the sidelines, Williams answer was not unexpected.

"He's pretty snotty. He's not enjoying life a little bit,'' Williams said. "I say, 'How are you doing?' and he says, 'Great.' I say, 'Don't tell me that,' and he says, 'I'm GREAT.' And I say, 'OK, excuse me for asking.'

"He wants to play badly. He's ready to go, he feels really, really good right now. But until the doctors and the family and the coach, until we we all get together and make that decision for him, we're going to be conservative, and we may continue to be."

Williams said he will travel with the team on its upcoming road trip, but he's not certain when or if he will play.

"We'll wait to see what happens the next three or four days,'' Williams said. "If you ask me whether he'll play Friday [at UC Santa Barbara] I have no idea, so if I have no idea on Friday, I have no idea next week in Maui, either." -- Robbi Pickeral