SPOKANE, Wash. — Tyrone Wallace, Cal’s starting point guard and only scholarship senior, has broken his right hand for the second time this season and is unlikely to play Friday when the Bears face Hawaii in the NCAA tournament, according to a report by Yahoo Sports!
Cal issued a statement Wednesday night acknowledging Wallace injured his hand in practice, but did not confirm he broke his hand. The statement said he was being evaluated and an update would be provided Thursday morning.
Wallace is the Bears’ leading scorer at 15.3 points per game and also contributes 5.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He was coming off a season-high 26-point performance in Cal’s overtime loss to Utah in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals.
The report said Wallace suffered the injury in practice at Berkeley on Wednesday before the team traveled to Spokane.
It’s the same (non-shooting) hand he broke in January, causing him to miss five games.
If Wallace cannot play, coach Cuonzo Martin likely would start junior Sam Singer in his place.
A 6-foot-6 senior from Bakersfield, Wallace considered entering the NBA draft after his junior season in 2015, but returned in order to complete his degree and to play in the NCAA with a young, talented team that includes freshmen Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb.
The news is the latest in a tumultuous week for the program. Assistant coach Yann Hufnagel was fired Monday for sexual harassment of a female reporter, and Martin is part of a campus review to determine whether his response to that situation was prompt and appropriate.
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