SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

South Carolina hasn't played a game in five days and will have to wait six more before getting to suit up again, but that doesn't mean there can't be some good news.

Frank Martin provided an update on his weekly call-in show on injured forward Justin Minaya, who had knee surgery a few weeks ago and is progressing like the team hoped he would.

Martin said Minaya's rehab is going well and the sophomore has been walking around and running on an elliptical that takes some of the weight off the knee while doing some running on the team's underwater treadmill.

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"Justin has an unbelievable work ethic," Martin said on his weekly call-in show. "He just attacks work, he doesn't run away from it."

Martin added Minaya is "past where he's expected to be" at this point with the biggest thing now is building strength back into the injured knee.

The key will be once Minaya starts adding more stress to his knee during workouts and practice when he is able to return to workout.

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If his knee doesn't swell up, then he could be able to put more stress on the knee and keep building strength until he's cleared to play again.

Martin said when Minaya was injured, the tentative timeframe to return was about four to six weeks, which would put him back with the team in mid-January in the thick of SEC play.

Minaya seriously injured his knee in practice the day before the team played Wofford on Nov. 26 in what Hassani Gravett called a "scary" injury.

Minaya had surgery a few days later and has been rehabbing ever since.

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The Gamecocks (4-5) are coming off a loss to Michigan and host No. 6 Virginia Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. as their next game.