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Kentucky's Gerald Fitch, center, laughs with teammate Chuck Hayes, during practice for the NCAA Midwest Regional tournament in March. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

LEXINGTON - Gerald Fitch underwent outpatient surgery Tuesday morning to repair a hernia, but the Kentucky guard shouldn't miss any practice time, coach Tubby Smith said.

Fitch had the surgery at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. He developed the hernia in late May in Colorado Springs, Colo., during preliminary tryouts for the U.S. team for the upcoming Pan American Games. Fitch re-aggravated the injury last week during the final tryouts for that squad.

The senior from Macon, Ga., withdrew from the tryouts last Wednesday and returned to Lexington from Orlando, Fla.

"Gerald is an integral part of our basketball team," Smith said. "We are thankful that by addressing the problem now, Gerald will be back to full strength when the team reports for the fall semester."

The 6-foot-3 Fitch started 35 of 36 games last season and was Kentucky's second-leading scorer (12.3 points). He was third on the team in assists (2.4) and was the Wildcats' top 3-point shooter (41.5 percent).

DENNEHY UPDATE: Tests on the body of slain Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy continued Tuesday as investigators try to recover trace evidence that might help reconstruct his fatal shooting, his family members said.

The Dallas medical examiner's office said Dennehy's body probably won't be released to relatives before the end of the week.

And authorities in Waco said it could be days before they get even a preliminary finding from pathologists detailing the exact cause of death.

Dennehy's badly decomposed body was discovered late Friday in a rural, weed-choked gravel pit about five miles southeast of Waco.

A former teammate, Carlton Dotson, has been charged with murder, suspected of shooting him in an argument.

Officials have said that they found unmistakable signs of gunshot trauma to Dennehy's head. A firearm - a 9 mm pistol not believed to be the murder weapon - was recovered nearby.

A law enforcement official told The Dallas Morning News on Monday that shell casings were collected at the scene, that Dennehy apparently had been shot in a clearing and that his body was dragged 15 to 20 feet into head-high weeds.

Dennehy's stepfather, Brian Brabazon, said Tuesday that authorities informed him and his wife that a box of bullets was found near the body.