South Carolina Basketball: An update from Coach Paris on an injured Gamecock

For the first 17 games of the 2023-2024 season, Myles Stute was a starter for Lamont Paris' South Carolina basketball team. However, a dirty play from a Georgia Bulldog injured Stute, and after missing about two weeks with a shoulder issue, he played off the bench. Then, in practice leading up to the Ole Miss game, he injured his knee and was out again.

After a thrilling win over Florida on Saturday, the Gamecocks have gone 6-0 without Stute this season, but them getting their second-leading outside shooter (39%) back in the fold will be a big boon to a team that relies on 3-point jumpers falling to win. The 24-5 South Carolina Gamecocks are 3-4 in games in which they make 6 3-pointers or fewer, and they are 21-1 when making 7 or more.

Good news on that front surfaced on Tuesday as Coach Lamont Paris announced after practice that the sharpshooting wing would be "available" against Tennessee on Wednesday night.

With Alabama's loss to Florida on Tuesday, a 2-0 finish for South Carolina basketball will result in an SEC regular season championship and #1 seed in the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Having Stute back for the game against the Vols certainly helps make that goal more attainable. The last time the two teams faced off, Stute went 3-3 from behind the arc and made 4 clutch free throws to seal the win for the Gamecocks.

Stute is a wing, but in certain situations, he can play small-ball power forward, as well. In the past couple of games with Stute out, Zach Davis (who is needed to guard the perimeter) and Ebrima Dibba (who hadn't played since the first game of the season) have both played some in small-ball situations. Having Stute available to play a few minutes at power forward and a few more at small forward could be huge for a Gamecock team searching for their first SEC title since 1997-1998.

The Gamecocks and Volunteers will tip off in front of a sold-out crowd at 7:00 PM EST. The game will be played on ESPN2.