Many potential college basketball superstars have front row seats in plain clothes Looking Action instead of hoops. His star-studded top 2022 Only four of his 12 players have played in all games this season.Dillon Mitchell of Texas, of Baylor keonte georgeSouth Carolina GG Jackson and Dukes Kyle Filipowski.
Eight other five-star prodigies have missed a combined 42 games this season due to injury. The number will only increase.
- Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas: Missed 17 games, return undecided
- Duke’s Dereck Lively II: Missed 2 games
- dukes Darik Whitehead: Missed 6 games, return undecided
- Oregon’s Kel’el Ware: Missed one game, return undecided
- of UCLA Amari Bailey: Missed 7 games.
- Villa Novaz Cam Whitmore: Missed 7 games
- in Houston Jareth Walker: Missed 1 game
- Kentucky’s Casson Wallace: Missed 1 game, return undecided
As anyone could have predicted, these injuries have hampered the team’s chances of meeting the bill. Duke can’t be his best version without a perfectly healthy Whitehead. Powerful 6-foot-7 wings change the overall look of John Scheer’s clubs on either side of the floor.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman Coaching with hands tied behind his back without Smith and precious Missouri transfers Trevon BrazilSmith, Arkansas’ first number one recruit, is coming back from a painful and lingering knee injury. All the Brazilian can do is change his hair color. Now it’s pink for cancer research. A season-ending knee injury made what looked like a breakout sophomore season.
Kentucky can’t imagine standing out without Wallace in the lineup. The “do anything to win” freshman guard has already proven himself to be one of college basketball’s elite defenders, shooting cover off the ball.
Villanova looks like a whole other team with Whitmore (thumbs up) and veteran Justin Moore (Achilles) on the floor, but it may be too late for them to right the ship. Wildcats (Big East Play 10-12, 4-7) will need a magical run at Madison Square Garden to earn an automatic bid into the tournament.
USC has just begun returning valuable freshman big man Vincent Iwchukwu to the rotation after missing 16 games due to a horrific cardiac arrest incident over the summer. Check if the Trojan can stay on the right side of the bubble and Iwuchukwu can wrap around.
“They’re a different team than Vince now,” admitted UCLA coach Mick Cronin.
All the top 25 teams in Indiana, Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Michigan have lost key rotation pieces at some point this season for a significant amount of time or the entire season.
Wyoming are bottom of the Mountain West and preseason conferences, with Player of the Year Graham Ike out of a second with a foot injury. The Cowboys could be an NCAA Tournament team with Ike dominating the paint, instead Wyoming has been plagued by his seven-win season, with him posting 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. I’m recording and sadly sitting at the end of the bench.
injuries are breaking our bones beautiful game.
The Daily Dish is a daily college basketball column from a rotating cast of 247Sports writers covering the biggest stories of the day in sports, leading up to the NCAA tournament championship in April.
