UNC Pinson ready for 1st action

North Carolina swingman Theo Pinson finally is set to make his season debut after October foot surgery.

Coach Roy Williams said Friday he expects to play the junior in the 14th-ranked Tar Heels’ game with rival North Carolina State on Saturday night.

Pinson’s return would be a major addition for North Carolina (13-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) as he may be the team’s top perimeter defender and is a good passer. His versatility was a significant factor in the Tar Heels’ run to last year’s ACC championship and NCAA title game.

The 6-foot-6 Pinson had surgery Oct. 26 to repair a fracture in his right foot suffered during preseason practices. He was expected to miss 8 to 12 weeks. Wednesday marked 10 weeks since the procedure.

Williams said Pinson has been cleared for full practices for about a week and has been doing limited work for two weeks.

Point guard Joel Berry II said Pinson is “trying to get his wind back” after missing so much practice work and having to rely on an exercise bike for conditioning during parts of his recovery. Surgery a success: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski underwent back surgery and his doctor said a full recovery is expected.

Krzyzewski had the operation to remove a fragment of a herniated disk in his lower back, a procedure the school estimates will sideline him for about four weeks.

Jeff Capel is the acting head coach.

Dr. Allan Friedman said in a statement issued by the school that Krzyzewski’s procedure “went exactly as planned.”

Leave of absence: Austin Peay coach Dave Loos began a leave of absence Thursday night as he continues chemotherapy for a cancerous lymph node.

His absence against Tennessee Tech marked the first time since March 7, 1990, that Loos wasn’t on the Governors’ sideline.

In a statement released by the university, a July surgery for the removal of a malignant tumor on Loos’ colon led to the discovery of a cancerous growth on a lymph node. He has been getting chemotherapy treatments since late in the summer.