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U of L's Blackshear iffy for NC State game

Jeff Greer
Louisville Courier Journal
Virginia's Justin Anderson, right, Darion Atkins (5) and Isaiah Wilkins, top left, combine to block a shot by Louisville's Wayne Blackshear, second from right, during first-half NCAA college basketball game action Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/The RichmondTimes-Dispatch, Joe Mahoney)

It remains unclear on Friday if University of Louisville wing Wayne Blackshear will be ready to play in Saturday's 4 p.m. home game against NC State.

Blackshear, a 6-foot-5 senior, played one minute and left Louisville's 69-56 win on Wednesday over Pittsburgh after aggravating a hip pointer injury that he suffered in a team workout that same day.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino told The Courier-Journal on Friday morning that Blackshear did not practice on Thursday, and at a press conference on Friday afternoon, Pitino described his starting small forward as "60, 70 percent back."

"He's not ready for contact," Pitino said. "Whether he'll play (Saturday), I'm not sure. It's a hip pointer, and they're not easy. He was still grimacing with certain moves."

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Blackshear told The Courier-Journal after the Pittsburgh game that Louisville center Mangok Mathiang kneed him in the hip/pelvic area during the team walk-through. Blackshear came to the KFC Yum! Center early on Wednesday to test his injured hip and receive treatment and a shot. A hip pointer is best detailed as a painful contusion or bruise.

Blackshear said he thought he could play, but he felt sharp pain as he turned to run back on defense during an early-game possession.

"It's one of those things I'll just have to see how it feels each day," he explained.

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On Friday, Pitino said ninth-ranked Louisville (20-4, 8-3 in the ACC) had a "number of different" options if Blackshear can't play, but he seemed most confident in inserting freshman guard Quentin Snider into the starting lineup and playing him with fellow guards Chris Jones and Terry Rozier.

Pitino and Louisville's coaching staff planned to teach Rozier on Friday the role of the small forward in the team's offensive sets to see if he can play the position.

Backup wings Anton Gill and Shaqquan Aaron would spell Rozier at the small forward spot in that scenario.

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"The one thing Terry can do is rebound," Pitino said. "Shaqquan hasn't shown any great prowess for rebounding, and neither has Anton. We know Terry can."

But rebounding isn't the biggest part of Blackshear's game that Pitino said Louisville will miss.

"Wayne just gives us all the other things that we can't replace: The physical nature of the way he plays the game," Pitino said.