SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

When Keyshawn Bryant went down with a knee injury before the season started, the initial timeline given was six weeks, but Frank Martin said they were hoping to get him back sooner.

As it stands right now, that looks like it could actually happen as Bryant continues through his rehab process.

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"I think he’s a little ahead of schedule," Martin said. "I’d like for our trainer to share ideas with me every once and a while, but I don’t want him in my timeout telling me what ball play to run. So when it comes to that stuff, I kind of let Mark (Rodger) do his thing and follow his lead a little bit.”

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Bryant found a loose piece of cartilage in his knee before the Gamecocks' exhibition game and had surgery on Halloween day to repair it, with initial timeframe being six weeks.

Martin mentioned at the time there was a chance he could be back earlier than six weeks. While he's ahead of schedule, Martin didn't specify a timeframe of when he could return.

Six weeks from his surgery would put his return on Dec. 12, three days before the Gamecocks' annual rivalry game against Clemson.

Five weeks would be Dec. 5, three days before hosting Houston, and four weeks would put him back later this month.

Right now he's not been cleared to fully practice but is doing other things around practice that lends itself to optimism.

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“He’s been fully cleared in the weight room," Martin said. "He’s in there squatting and doing all kinds of stuff. He was on the court yesterday just shooting jump shots. Then he’s running on that treadmill where it’s kind of weight-baring. It’s some fancy treadmill you put a fancy girdle on and you can control how much weight is being allowed on your legs when you run. He was running on that yesterday, I don’t know on what weight-baring—50 percent, 60 percent, I don’t know.”

The question when he returns is what his role will be and how much explosion he'll have coming off the first major injury of his career.

At this point in the season, Martin hasn't thought about what the rotation would be like once Bryant returns.

Martin said Bryant was playing at a high level before getting injured. Last season, Bryant was a key piece of the Gamecocks' team, averaging nine points and 3.8 rebounds in 32 games last season.

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“The rotation part, I know what it was like before he got hurt. After the injury, it’s a knee injury and he’s never dealt with an injury before, I got no idea where he’s going to be at. I know he was in a great place. He was defending at a high, high level. He was playing with a more confident athleticism. Being a more confident basketball player allowed his athleticism to be used even more. I don’t know what he’s going to be at when he comes back from that standpoint. We’ll manage that whenever it gets here.”

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