Lamont Paris gives injury update on Ta'Lon Cooper, Myles Stute

As Lamont Paris and South Carolina ready for their NCAA Tournament opener against Oregon, the Gamecocks are hoping two key players heal quickly from injuries that sidelined them at least temporarily during the SEC Tournament.

Guard Myles Stute (hip pointer) and guard Ta’Lon Cooper (ankle) are both recovering from various knocks.

Stute left the game against Arkansas and then missed the following contest against Auburn, continuing a streak of injuries that has limited him over the second half of the season. But the prognosis on both players is relatively positive heading into Thursday’s matchup.

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“I think there’s been good progress on behalf of each of those guys,” coach Lamont Paris said. “I think Myles Stute, his injury was a little more significant in that he had to miss some game time. But he’s made some good progress. So I expect him to be available at some level.”

Stute is averaging 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, helping the team in the backcourt after transferring in from Vanderbilt this offseason.

But he’s been in and out of the lineup. He missed three games in January with a shoulder injury, then suffered a knee injury in February that caused him to miss three more games.

How much he’ll be able to play against the Ducks remains to be seen.

“We’ll see what that looks like in terms of what percentage of his usual self he is in terms of mobility, in terms of absorbing contact and being able to continue to play the way that he needs to to be an effective piece for us,” Lamont Paris said.

Paris also provided an update on Cooper, whose injury doesn’t sound quite as serious.

“And then Ta’Lon was the same,” he said. “I think he’s at a pretty high percentage of full health, and he’ll be ready to go.”

Cooper is a key cog in the backcourt, averaging 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

South Carolina and Oregon are scheduled for a 4 p.m. ET tipoff in Pittsburgh, with a national broadcast on TNT.