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(10-28-2019 05:09 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  I started playing organized basketball in 1957 and had been around the game as a coach at the junior high level for several years and have followed the sport all my life. I have no data to back me up but it seems to me that serious (missing several games) basketball injuries have become much more common over the decades. I do know that over time the game has become much, much more physical and that the players are, on average, bigger, faster and much stronger. Heck, there was a time when basketball players were forbidden from lifting weights! There is way more physical contact in the game than long ago. I think the "injury situation" being a big factor among college teams is, unfortunately, just a fact of life and is here to stay.

All that is true ... but another big factor is these kids actually play too much basketball over the course of the year. Specialization (one sport) starting at early ages puts so much constant abuse on muscles and joints that it's surprising even more players aren't lost to injuries.