USC basketball: Dewayne Dedmon given a clean bill of health

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USC 7-foot sophomore center Dewayne Dedmon broke his right hand Oct. 11, but it has healed properly and he has been given a clean bill of health, team athletic trainer David Borchardt said Wednesday.

X-rays were performed Tuesday night and showed that his hand had healed.

Borchardt said Dedmon is pain-free and practiced without a soft splint in practice Wednesday, the first time he practiced without a cast, brace or splint of any kind since his injury.

USC Coach Kevin O’Neill had already said Dedmon would play in the Trojans’ season opener Friday against Cal State Northridge, but it appears Dedmon’s injury won’t be a factor as he makes his USC debut.

Dedmon, whose improbable journey to USC was chronicled in The Times on Wednesday, improved his left-hand skills mightily while his right hand was in a cast.

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-- Baxter Holmes