Tyrone Wallace Injury: Updates on Cal PG's Hand and Return

California Golden Bears starting guard Tyrone Wallace is dealing with a hand injury, and it is uncertain when he will be able to return to action.

Continue for updates.

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Latest on Wallace's Timeline to Return

Thursday, March 17

Cal announced Wallace will miss the entirety of the NCAA tournament.

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Wallace Fractures Bone in Hand 

Wednesday, March 16

Shams Charania of The Vertical noted Wallace fractured a bone in his (non-shooting) right hand during Wednesday’s practice. 

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Wallace a Vital Element of Cal's Tournament Hopes

While players such as Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown draw many of the headlines for this California team that is the No. 4 seed in the South Region, Wallace is arguably its most important player on the floor as a senior leader. 

The 6’5” point guard led the squad in scoring, assists, steals and minutes per game, and is a matchup problem for opposing backcourts. He has made a solid statistical impact throughout his California career and may now miss the opportunity to advance deep into the tournament in his final season:

Season	Minutes	Points	Assists	Rebounds	Steals
2012-13	28.2	7.2	2.6	4.4	0.8
2013-14	31.1	11.3	2.7	4.1	1.3
2014-15	34.8	17.1	4	7.1	1.3
2015-16	32.2	15.3	4.4	5.4	1

The silver lining for the Golden Bears is the sheer amount of talent in place around Wallace that can carry the offensive load if he is out.

Brown is also a matchup problem as a 6’7” forward who scored 15 points a night, and Rabb is a handful to deal with down low and a double-double threat every time he steps on the court after averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a game.

Elsewhere, Jordan Mathews is a sharpshooting guard who averaged 13.2 points per night as someone who can stretch the floor.

However, the Rainbow Warriors are not a team to be overlooked even with a healthy Wallace running the show for California. Hawaii finished 27-5 on the 2015-16 campaign and only lost by three points to Buddy Hield and Oklahoma earlier in the season. The Rainbow Warriors figure to challenge the Golden Bears even more if California’s leading scorer is out.

There is also the individual aspect to evaluate with this injury.

Wallace is a senior with NBA aspirations. DraftExpress had him as the 60th and final pick on its Monday update to its mock draft, which makes him a bubble player when healthy.

If this proves to be a serious injury that lingers, it could hurt his chances of playing his way up the draft board from what is already a precarious position.