SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
One of South Carolina’s freshman guards will be out for an extended period of time, and Frank Martin said the coaching staff is weighing options for him to potentially redshirt this season.
Martin announced Sunday that TJ Moss has a serious high ankle sprain and is currently sorting through his options.
“TJ, they took the cast off. They re-evaluated,” Martin said. “He’s got a pretty severe high ankle sprain. That’s a significant time loss, six to eight weeks from the time of the injury. Redshirting is on the table. We’re in those talks.”
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Moss, who missed time at the beginning of the season with a foot injury, has played in seven games with three starts.
He sprained his ankle before the team’s Dec. 19 game against Virginia and hasn’t played the last two games against the Cavaliers and Clemson, both losses.
Martin said he and Moss have started preliminary conversations about what Moss might ultimately do and will continue those with Moss and his family for the next few weeks.
“He still has not played in too many games. I believe the cutoff date is January 16,” Martin said. “If you play after that date, redshirt is off the table. I think that’s the cutoff date. It’s on the table right now. We started those talks...we’re going to keep talking about that.”
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Moss is averaging 6.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while shooting 39 percent from the field.
His expected recovery date is six to eight weeks from the time of the injury, which would put him back at the beginning or middle of February.
That would bring him back with right around 10 games left in the regular season, something that will affect Moss and his decision making.
“I want to win games, I want our best players on the court as many games as possible,” Martin said. “But at the same time, six weeks from now, that’s sometime in February, is it the right thing to do for a kid to burn a year for him to play six games? We’re trying to figure that out.”
Other than that, the Gamecocks will be getting Maik Kotsar back for Monday’s game against North Greenville (2 p.m.).
Kotsar missed the last two games with a concussion.
Justin Minaya, the third and final injured player, is “not close” in his rehab after knee surgery in November, which Martin said means he won’t be practicing over the next week.
Minaya has been shooting balls, Martin said, to the side while the team practices.
“As a head coach or assistant, I’ve never been through what we’ve been through what we’ve been through this year,” Martin said about injuries. “Dawn (Staley’s) been through it, Will (Muschamp’s) been through it. It’s incredible. I don’t know what’s going on on campus this year.”
