Myles Stute provides latest on hip pointer injury, where he's at for NCAA Tournament prep
Myles Stute still remembers the exact moment when it happened.
South Carolina, playing in the second round of the SEC Tournament, was up by 11 points against Arkansas. Stute, working his way back from a sprained knee injury, was on the defensive end of the floor when the play went down.
“I basically got just like elbowed, kind of butt-screened, right in my hip at the perfect angle,” Stute told GamecockCentral, referring to his in-game injury. “Yeah, it just flared up on me really bad and I wasn’t really able to do too much the rest of the next couple days.”
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Stute, who has been battling injuries all year, suffered a hip pointer, which kept him out for the rest of the SEC Tournament. It didn’t make a big difference as the Gamecocks went on to lose the next day against Auburn. But for the senior guard, it impacted him hard.
“It was really more so like a quality of life kind of thing. It’s your oblique, it’s your core. Anything from coughing to just trying to get out of bed was really difficult,” Stute said. So those first couple of days were really, really bad. The last couple days have been really, really well. I’ve been able to practice and move and do more stuff as time has gone on.”
The best way to describe the injury was like “being stabbed,” as Stute explained.
“It’s a really sharp pain every time you try to move or contort your body any kind of way,” he said.
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About a week removed from the day the injury happened, Stute is feeling a lot better. He even expects to be able to play in the team’s first round matchup versus Oregon in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
“I know I’m definitely going to be able to get out there and work my minutes, whatever that looks like, and just play as hard as I possibly can,” Stute said. “But I’m definitely looking forward to being back out there on Thursday and being available.”
At this point, Stute is far from being 100 percent. But he said practice has been going well as each day has been a step in the right direction for him.
“I think I was probably about 75-80 percent,” Stute said about how he felt during Tuesday’s practice. “I wasn’t able to do every single rep like I wanted to, but I definitely did a lot more than I was expecting.”
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While dealing with constant injuries isn’t what he originally envisioned for this season, Stute understands it’s part of the game. But now, he’s just looking to being back out on the court and taking advantage of the opportunity he has to win.
“Throughout my basketball career, I’ve been a very healthy guy,” he said. “I’ve never really had to miss any time or any games at all, especially throughout my collegiate career. So to come here and kind of be battling through adversity a little bit, it just makes the story a little sweeter.”
