How long South Carolina basketball starter will be out after dirty play resulted in injury

Earlier this week, Lamont Paris' South Carolina basketball team lost a disappointing game at home against the Georgia Bulldogs in which poor free throw shooting, a cold offensive spell, and abysmal officiating made for ugly viewing for Gamecock fans.

However, the deficit on the final scoreboard wasn't the only loss of the night.

In the second half, while Stute was battling for position for an offensive rebound on a missed free throw, Georgia's RJ Melendez hooked his arm around Stute's and yanked him off the floor, pulling his shoulder in such a way that Stute was injured. Stute left the game and did not return. Melendez was assessed a flagrant-1 foul but only after play was stopped for Stute's injury. The officiating crew led by Pat Adams did not even notice the foul until replays showed the incident during the injury timeout.

On Thursday, an official release from the South Carolina basketball program said that Stute would be out likely 2-3 weeks with a shoulder strain from the incident.

Stute's loss is critical for the Gamecocks. The big wing is one of the top 3-point shooters on the team, and his versatility to play the 3 and slide down to the 4 in certain situations will be missed. He is one of just two real wing-sized players on the roster along with sophomore Zach Davis. Davis is expected to start for USC in Stute's absence. The Gamecocks likely will play more minutes with a smaller 3-guard look without #10 in the lineup.

Stute had started every game for Carolina and led the team in 3-point percentage (39%) and was second in 3-point makes behind only Meechie Johnson. He was the team's third-leading scorer (10 points per game) and was one of the more versatile defenders on the roster.

The Myles Stute-less South Carolina basketball team will face off with Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday at 1:00 EST. The game will be broadcast on the SECNetwork.