Basketball News Blog
 

College Basketball Injuries

If you want to turn a profit in the competitive world of sports wagering, it’s necessary to keep up on things on a daily basis. Take injuries in college basketball. Injuries happen all the time and one has to be on top of everything. Alabama just lost leading scorer Chuck Davis for the season. How does this affect their ability to rebound? Do they have other offensive options to rely on? Is there a devastating psychological aspect that might take place when a team of high expectations loses its best player? Remember five years ago when Cincinnati was No. 1 in the nation going into the March tournament, and in the first minute of the first game lost star forward Kenyon Martin to a broken leg? That flattened their chances and their emotional state.

I’m not just talking about season-ending injuries to star players, either. Role players can be a huge key to a team’s success, such as the unsung rebounding forward who does the dirty work under the boards. If that role player is lost for a few weeks or the entire season, that can alter the subtle chemistry on a team.

In addition, players often play through nagging injuries that pop up during a long season. Arkansas State last week was a good example. The Indians have had several players over the last week suffer nagging injuries. In last week’s win at Little Rock, they had to go with only 5 players for the final 12 minutes of the game! In their next game, they lost and failed to cover at Middle Tennessee State as the lack of depth took a toll. Check out the box score on that game. Notice that Arkansas State used 5 starters and one sixth man pretty much the whole game. It’s no surprise they wilted down the stretch as MTS pulled away late.

If a player has a strong defensive guard that is hurting with an ankle or hamstring problem, maybe the injury isn’t severe enough to force him to sit down, but it also may hinder his effectiveness. He could loss a step or two and be vulnerable to penetrating guards, or not be quick enough to defend on the perimeter anymore. You can identify this by looking at box scores and seeing if they are allowing more three-point shots, for instance.

Northern Iowa has a very good team this season, but notice they just lost senior guard Erik Crawford for four to six weeks after suffering a broken bone in his right foot. Crawford was averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and had started all 17 games for the Panthers. He had made 80 consecutive starts for the Panthers dating to the 2003-04 season. This is something serious sports bettors need to circle and keep tabs on.

Cincinnati senior forward Armein Kirkland will miss the remainder of the season, their fourth leading scorer. UCLA’s fine season is being tested by a rash of injuries. The Bruins are without lone senior Cedric Bozeman, who also is done for the year with torn cartilage in his left shoulder, and star sophomore guard Jordan Farmar has been bothered by a nagging ankle injury. This week, they found out sophomore guard Josh Shipp will miss the remainder of the season (hip).

Also, some teams get players back because of injuries and suspensions. Bradley played the first 8 games of the season without 7-foot sophomore center Patrick O’Bryant, who was a strong force as a freshman last season. All of this goes beyond stats. Stats can be almost meaningless when key players, both starters and role players, are hurting or seriously injured.

Bryan Leonard is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Bryan_Leonard.htm

Basketball History

The father of basketball, Dr. James Naismith came up with the game in 1892 and the first game was played in Beaver Falls Pennsylvania on April 8 1893 between the New Brighton YMCA and the Geneva College. The game was very popular and by 1914 as many as 360 colleges boasted basketball teams. In 1939, the first NCAA Men’s College Basketball Championship tournament was held which was won by the University of Oregon.

The formation of Pro basketball in 1896 came about from a dispute between YMCA team members and officials and ended in the members forming a professional team that played for money. In 1898, the NBL (National Basketball League) was formed and produced the first basketball stars - Ed Wachter and Barney Sedran.

The first two professional basketball teams to achieve success were the Buffalo Germans and the Celtics but during the 1930’s favorites included the New York Renaissance and the Harlem Globetrotters. During this time, womens basketball was also popular and produced great players such as Babe Didrikson and Alline Banks Sprouse.

In 1940, the first college basketball game was shown on TV. This game was played between Pittsburgh and Fordham at Madison Square Garden, and catapulted basketball into a national sensation. Since then basketball has been one of the most watched sports and in fact the March Madness, when almost 350 American colleges compete for the NCAA basketball crown is the most watched event in the United States.

In Pro basketball during the 1940’s and 50’s the Minneapolis Lakers were a huge favorite of many winning 5 NBA championship titles and producing starts like Bob Cousy and Bob Pettit. But during the late 1950’s up until 1969, the Celtics had the court winning 11 NBA titles (8 f them right in a row). During this era favorite players included Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlin of the Philadelphia Warriors.

During 1963 to 1975 The University of California, Los Angeles was in the spotlight winning 10 national championships, including seven in a row. Some of the great players of this UCLA team include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and Marques Johnson.

In 1967 the American Basketball Association (ABA) was formed and many will remember one of the satart players Julius Erving as well as their red white and blue basketballs. The ABA only lasted until 1976 when it broke up and many of the teams joined the NBA.

In the 1960’s, womens basketball introduced the 5 player full court format and made dribbling fully legal but it wasn’t until 1985 that the Basketball Hall of Fame began inducting woman coaches and players. Some of the first women to get this honor include Carol Blazejowski, Ann Meyers, Cheryl Miller; Nancy Lieberman-Cline and Anne Donovan.

In the late 1970’s start players like Larry Bird of Indiana State University and Michigan State Universities Magic Johnson emerged and the late 1980s saw such major players as Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman. But perhaps the most beloved player of all is Michael Jordan who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s.

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