Bryce Thompson Has a Torn Labrum, Could Miss Rest of Season

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State basketball program can’t catch a break.

Bryce Thompson has a torn labrum, OSU coach Mike Boynton announced Thursday. The injury will require surgery and could see Thompson miss the remainder of OSU’s season.

“Hate it for him, individually, a kid that’s really one of the hardest-working kids I’ve every been around,” Boynton said. “Really cares about this school, this program. Obviously being an in-state kid, wanted to represent this program.”

Thompson was going up for a layup early in the first half of OSU’s 83-54 loss to Kansas on Tuesday. He made contact with KU big man Hunter Dickinson and took a tumble to the floor. Thompson almost immediately started squirming in noticeable pain. After a few minutes on the hardwood with trainers around him, Thompson got to his feet and headed to the tunnel while favoring his injured shoulder.

Averaging 11.6 points per game, Thompson is the Cowboys’ second-leading scorer.

But past his scoring, his experience is what the Cowboys will miss most. Thompson entered the season as the only player on the Cowboys’ roster who has played more than one year in the Big 12. Thompson has also developed a solid defensive game in recent years, and defense has been an issue for this group. In Big 12 play, teams are averaging 76.8 points a game on 52% shooting against the Cowboys. That points total ranks second-worst in the league, while the opponent field-goal percentage is a league-worst.

Thompson’s injury puts the Cowboys down to 10 healthy scholarship players.

“It’s a difficult thing to deal with, but life sometimes throws you some curveballs,” Boynton said. “You gotta be ready to adapt. Another challenge we’ll look forward to trying to figure out how we can grow from and learn from and get better for. Obviously our prayers will be with him as he goes into surgery.”