Wake Forest suspends center Woods

Wake Forest junior center Tony Woods has been suspended indefinitely from the men's basketball team, coach Jeff Bzdelik said in a statement Monday, "in order to allow him to devote his time and effort to address the allegations that he is facing."

According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Woods is facing charges resulting from an incident on Labor Day.

Woods is alleged to have kicked and pushed down Courtney Lorel Barbour, with whom he lives. Woods, 20, was charged with three misdemeanors: assault inflicting serious injury, assault on a female and assault inflicting injury in the presence of a child.

According to the Journal, police said that Barbour, the mother of their 1-year-old child, sustained a lumbar spine fracture.

-- Robbi Pickeral

Duke's Singler has arthroscopic knee surgery

Duke senior forward Kyle Singler, who was named the most outstandidng player of the 2010 Final Four, had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee this afternoon at the Duke University Medical Center, the school announced.

Singler is expected to make a full recovery before the start of practice on Oct. 15.

“Kyle had some discomfort in his knee following a very busy summer so we elected to go in and clean it up prior to the start of the season,” said Duke associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski. “By all accounts, today’s surgery was a success and Kyle will be back at full strength before the start of practice.”

A first-team All-ACC selection, Singler averaged 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds last season whilie leading Duke to the NCAA championship and its second straight ACC tournament title. He ranks 18th all-time at Duke with 1,767 career points.

Duke will open practice on Oct. 15 with its Countdown to Craziness celebration. The Blue Devils' regular season begins Nov. 14 against Princeton in the opening round of the CBE Classic.

Ken Tysiac

ACC schedule highlights

Some marquee nonconference games for defending NCAA champion Duke are among the highlights of the ACC men's basketball schedule, which was released today.

Within a four-day span, the Blue Devils will meet two of the teams that played in the 2010 Final Four. Duke plays host to Michigan State on Dec. 1 and will play Butler on Dec. 4 in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Blue Devils, who will be among the favorites for a second straight NCAA title, also will visit Oregon on Nov. 27 and will play in the CBE Classic in Kansas City against Marquette on Nov. 22 in the semifinals and against either Kansas State or Gonzaga on Nov. 23.

Duke's games with North Carolina, which almost always are among the most highly anticipated meetings of the college basketball season, are scheduled for Feb. 9 in Durham and March 5 in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils' most challenging section of their ACC schedule occurs in early February, when they will meet Maryland, N.C. State and North Carolina in succession.

North Carolina will count heavily on freshmen as it attempts to rebound from a disappointing 2009-10 season that ended with a loss in the NIT final. The Tar Heels and highly regarded recruits Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock will visit Illinois on Nov. 30 and play host to Kentucky on Dec. 4 in a couple of high-profile games.

They also will meet Texas in the Greensboro Coliseum on Dec. 18 and play three games in the Puerto Rico Classic from Nov. 18-21. The Tar Heels will be tested by what's expected to be a much-improved N.C. State team on Jan. 29 at Chapel Hill and Feb. 23 in Raleigh.

N.C. State, which will feature senior low-post scorer Tracy Smith and three highly regarded freshmen, will visit Wisconsin on Dec. 1 and Syracuse on Dec. 4 in its most difficult nonconference games.

The Wolfpack's conference schedule includes a stretch of five ACC games out of seven that will be on the road beginning with a visit to Clemson on Jan. 25. That stretch also includes games at North Carolina (on Jan. 29) and at Duke (on Feb. 5) before closing with a trip to Maryland on Feb. 20.

N.C. State will finish the schedule, though, with three of its final four ACC games at home.

Wake Forest, which is under new leadership as former Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik takes the helm, will play host to Iowa on Nov. 30, visits Xavier on Dec. 18, and plays at home against Gonzaga on Dec. 29.

In November, the Demon Deacons will play in the preseason NIT. They get a bit of a break in their ACC schedule, though, because they meet Duke and North Carolina just once each. Wake Forest plays host to Duke on Jan. 22 and visits North Carolina on Feb. 15.

Ken Tysiac

UNC coach: My players had no contact with tutor

North Carolina coach Roy Williams said Thursday morning that his basketball players have not had contact with the tutor who is being investigated for possible academic misconduct with football players.

In an interview with The News & Observer, Williams said no one can ever be 100 percent sure that the school’s academic investigation won’t carry over to other programs.

“But I have, since the news has been out there, checked with our people to see if we had anybody involved with that specific tutor; is this something that I’m going to get a call about in the middle of the night?” he said.

“And I’ve been assured that it’s not going to be a call I’m going get in the middle of the night, and I’ve been assured that there has not been any contact with that particular tutor. That’s as far as I can go; that’s as far as they want me to ask. They want me to keep my nose out of it, and I’m trying to do that – and gladly doing that, to be honest with you.”

The football program is currently mired in two investigations. The NCAA, since early July, has been looking into the Tar Heels’ possible improper contact with agents.

Last week, the school also launched a probe into whether a tutor – who formerly worked for both UNC, and head football coach Butch Davis – gave improper help to football players with papers written for class.

- Robbi Pickeral