North Carolina coach Roy Williams said reigning national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough is "extremely doubtful" for Saturday's season opener for the top-ranked Tar Heels.

In a statement from the school yesterday, Williams said the team will keep Hansbrough out of practice a little longer as he recovers from a stress reaction in his right shin. Hansbrough hasn't practiced for two weeks because of the injury, which can be a precursor to a stress fracture.

"It's extremely doubtful that he would play against Pennsylvania, and I emphasize extremely doubtful," Williams said. "We will continue to evaluate him and have more information when it becomes available."

Hansbrough has played in all 108 games of his three-year career, though he missed Saturday's exhibition win against North Carolina-Pembroke. It was the first time North Carolina had played without him since its win against Illinois in the 2005 NCAA championship game, and he had missed just one practice — the day after playing 47 minutes in a double-overtime win against Clemson despite an infected toe last year — before this injury.

NEVADA

FRONT LINE GETS A BOOST

Nevada coach Mark Fox said yesterday he has signed two big men as part of the early recruiting period to join the Wolf Pack in 2009-10 and shore up a shortage of front-line players.

Steven Bjornstad, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound center from Vancouver, Wash., and Devonte Elliott, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward from Paramount, Calif., signed national letters of intent.

Fox also announced that Mark McLaughlin, a 6-foot-5 guard from Kenmore, Wash., has been cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center and next season will honor the letter of intent he signed last November to attend Nevada.

UCLA

WINNERS ON, OFF COURT

UCLA signed four recruits to national letters of intent yesterday, the same day the fourth-ranked Bruins opened the season with a 82-58 victory over Prairie View A&M.

The players who will attend UCLA next fall are Tyler Honeycutt, a 6-foot-8, 190-pound guard-forward from Sylmar (Calif.) High; Brendan Lane, a 6-10, 205-pound forward from Rocklin (Calif.) High; Reeves Nelson, a 6-7, 220-pound forward from Modesto (Calif.) Christian High; and Anthony Stover, a 6-10, 210-pound center from Windward High in La Canada, Calif.