Virginia freshman Malcolm Brogdon, last year’s Mr. Basketball in Georgia, underwent surgery for a broken bone in his left foot Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the season.
The former Greater Atlanta Christian standout missed Virginia’s past two games and was limited in the three previous games after injuring his left foot in practice Feb. 17. His surgery was performed by specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte. He was expected to spend the night in a Charlotte-area hospital, and it wasn’t certain when he would rejoin the team.
“Boy he was clutch for us down the stretch in a lot of games and was steady and was very physical,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “I’m excited for his future. I liked what was happening as the season progressed, so it was unfortunate timing for him.”
Brogdon was Virginia’s sixth man, averaging 6.7 points in 22.4 minutes per game.
The Cavaliers are already short, going without center Assane Sene, who was suspended for the remainder of the season Monday for violating team rules. The Cavaliers are 7-6 without Sene, the 7-footer from Senegal, who is their primary shot blocker and a leader on defense.
Smith ready to play
Clemson’s Tanner Smith is healed and ready to play in front of more than 30 friends and family when the Tigers take on Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the ACC tournament.
Smith, a 6-5 senior from Alpharetta, was injured in the Tigers’ 80-72 loss at Florida State on Sunday. He landed on his upper back and neck on a drive to the basket. He underwent a concussion test Monday and was pronounced healthy.
He resumed jogging and light exercises Tuesday and participated in both of the team’s practices Wednesday without any side effects.
He said he is receiving treatments on his neck, which is still sore. He said there was no way he was going to miss playing in his last ACC tournament in his hometown. “I was going to make sure I did everything I could to get back on the court; luckily it wasn’t as severe as it could have been,” Smith said.
Unfamiliar ground
Top-seeded North Carolina is one of three ACC teams that did not play Georgia Tech at Philips Arena this season, along with Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Unlike those other two schools, the Tar Heels also chose not to practice on Wednesday at Philips Arena, foregoing their allotted pre-ACC tourney practice time to stay in Chapel Hill and practice at home before traveling. Duke and Georgia Tech also did not practice at Philips Arena on Wednesday.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams didn’t seem concerned that his Tar Heels would be getting their first taste of Philips Arena at noon Friday against the winner of Maryland and Wake Forest.
“If we happen to play poorly and lose, I can assure you I will not blame it on the building,” Williams said.
Of bigger concern to him was keeping an eye on the minutes of point guard Kendall Marshall. Williams acknowledges that Marshall wore down by the championship game of last year’s tournament, after playing 35 and 40 minutes in the first two rounds, and he has averaged 36 minutes per game in North Carolina’s past 10 games.
Williams said he’ll look to get more minutes at the point from freshman Stilman White.
More ‘beatable’ Duke
Duke enters the ACC tournament as the defending three-time champion but after a walloping at home at the hands of North Carolina on Saturday night, the Blue Devils enter the tournament a little more “beatable” than usual.
That’s a notion Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t shy away from in the weekly ACC coaches teleconference.
“More people can beat this team than some of my teams in the past, but out of 31 occasions, 26 of them, these kids have won,” Krzyzewski said. “So they’ve proven that they can win. And I’m confident that they’ll have that type of attitude going forward.”
Duke went 26-5 while playing the eighth-hardest schedule in the country, including nonconference games against Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Kansas.
“I’m confident about who we are,” Krzyzewski said. “I wish we were faster. I wish I had bigger wings. There’s a bunch of things you can wish for, but who we are has been very good. It’s been really good.”
Miami’s Tech tie
Longtime Georgia Tech fans should know the father of Miami guard Rion Brown, former Yellow Jackets guard Tico Brown. The elder Brown played three seasons in the late ’70s and is Tech’s 23rd all-time leading scorer.
“Every once in awhile, he’ll give me an old story, [but] he tries to let me live in my own moment,” said Rion Brown, who is from Hinesville near Savannah.
Brown won’t be hard to find. He wears bright orange Nike Hyperfuse sneakers on the encouragement of his mother, whose favorite color is orange.
Said Brown, “Can’t say no to Mom.”
Back in the conference
Miami coach Jim Larranaga coached seven years as an assistant at Virginia from 1979-86, helping the Cavaliers to two Final Fours and coaching the legendary Ralph Sampson. After a 26-year absence, during which he coached at Bowling Green and George Mason, Larranaga is back at the ACC tournament.
“I felt like the ACC was the best basketball conference in America,” he said. “I still feel that way.”
Larranaga can accomplish one thing with Miami that he never did as a Cavaliers assistant — win the ACC tournament.
Staying at home
Tech did not practice at Philips Arena on Wednesday, preferring to prepare for Miami on campus. Since Tech has played 10 games at Philips this season, coach Brian Gregory didn’t feel the need to familiarize players with the arena and also wanted players to attend class.
Staff writers Doug Roberson, Carroll Rogers, Ken Sugiura and Tim Tucker contributed to this article.
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