Terrance Williams injury update: Eric Musselman weighs potential redshirt opportunity

Eric Musselman indicated in January that Terrance Williams may be forced to miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken wrist in December, which required surgery.

Williams appeared in seven games for USC this season, making six starts. He’s averaging 10.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while playing 32 minutes per night. However, that might be all the action he sees this season.

If that happens, a case could be made for him to be given a medical redshirt, giving him another season of eligbility.

“He’s out indefinitely,” Musselman told reporters after defeating Penn State 92-67. “There would be a chance that he could possibly come back toward the end of the season. But then, if you do that, he probably loses his eligibility to play next year, and for him to play two or three games [this year], or be able to to play next year. I haven’t discussed it with him. This first time I’ve brought it up.

“If his rehab went well and they said he’s cleared, I mean, he and I would have that conversation. But just like with any player, I’d probably give him the advice of what I would for my son and to play one or two games as opposed to playing 30 — because I don’t think he can come back before, maybe at the earliest, we’d have four games left.

While there may be an opportunity to give him an extra season of eligbility, his broken wrist came at a time when he began this year averaging career highs across the board. On top of his scoring totals, he was also shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range on the season. Again, those are better than his career averages.

Whether he’s cleared in time for the final stretch of the regular season or not, Musselman gave one piece of advice to Williams before moving on to the next question in his press conference.

“For the best interest of Terrence, if he can’t get five or six games in, it’s probably better to [stay] another year,” Musselman concluded.

The Trojans will move forward, for the time being, without Williams as they host Minnesota on Saturday afternoon with an opportunity to bolster their Big Ten record ahead of the postseason. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. ET and will air live on the Big Ten Network.