Indiana sophomore guard Gabe Cupps reported earlier this week he had repair surgery on his right meniscus.
So it was reasonable to expect a relatively long recovery timeline.
On his Friday evening pregame radio spot with Don Fischer, IU coach Mike Woodson said there’s a good chance Cupps won’t return by the end of the 2024-25 season.
Cupps will “probably be out for the rest of the season depending on how things go,” Woodson told Fischer.
IU issued a release Wednesday indicating Cupps will be out indefinitely, “after undergoing a successful surgery for a pre-existing, nagging lower body injury.”
If he doesn’t return, Cupps should end up being a good candidate for a medical hardship waiver, which typically requires that a player suffer a season-ending injury and does not play in more than 30% of the games.
Cupps has played in only four games for the Hoosiers this season.
He averaged six minutes per game across those four appearances, and didn’t score a point on his four field-goal attempts. He last played four minutes during IU’s win over Providence in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The Dayton, Ohio native played a more important role last season. He played in all 33 games for Indiana, with 22 starts. Cupps averaged 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 36.4 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from 3-point range, and 61.5 percent at the foul line.