GLENDALE, Ariz. _ It wouldn't be South Carolina basketball without a late-breaking event that threatens the season.
Sindarius Thornwell, the Gamecocks' best player and the biggest reason why they're in the Final Four, didn't practice on Thursday after feeling sick. He stayed at the team hotel and missed USC's practice session at University of Phoenix Stadium.
"I've got a bug myself. Luckily, I don't have to play," coach Frank Martin said. "He had a little body temperature last night when we landed. He was a little better this morning. I told our trainer, 'Just feed him fluids, do what doctors do, let him rest rather than stress him right now.' "
Missing practice, Martin said, wasn't that big a deal because Thornwell knows exactly what South Carolina is going to do in the game. While Martin didn't offer any projections of Thornwell's status for Saturday's national semifinal against Gonzaga, other team sources didn't seem concerned.
The Gamecocks are set to practice again on Friday.
