Stanford Player's Career Ends After Fourth ACL Tear

Stanford's Andy Brown is calling it quits after a fourth ACL tear. (bigstory.ap.com)

Some have the drive and work ethic, but lack the natural athleticism or skill. Some have the skill but don't care enough to work. Others have what it takes to play college or professional sports, but their bodies let them down.

The latter was the case for Stanford basketball player Andy Brown, whose career from basketball is coming to an end after tearing his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) for the fourth time in four years. The first three tears happened in his left knee, but this time it was his right. This injury came after he was able to finish a full season without injury last year for the first time in his college career.

"Everyone associated with our program is saddened by Andy's latest injury," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said in a statement. "Nobody has worked harder to get back into playing shape, having already experienced three tears and waiting two full years before putting on a uniform. What makes this even more disappointing is Andy had already passed the initial test of getting back on the court."

Brown's first ACL tear came in high school, but he was still able to head off to Stanford healthy and begin practices. That is until, on literally the first day of practice, it happened again. The third time took place in August of the next year, and two years into college came and went without him seeing the floor. Three ACL tears from January 2009 to August 2010. The fact that he even played last year, averaging 6.2 points per game, is impressive.

But now that dream is over because he was cursed with poor knees. Many former players can relate. Brown already has his undergraduate degree and is working on his master's. Basketball wasn't meant to be in his future, even just for college, so now he will find his career and other passions, hopefully ones that are a little less stressful on his knees.

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Jabari Parker To Announce College Choice Dec. 20

Jabari Parker will announce his college choice on Dec. 20. (espn.com)

Jabari Parker, the No. 3 prospect on the 2013 class Rivals 150 list, will let the country know where he will play his college basketball on Dec. 20.

Five schools remain in the race for Parker - Duke, Michigan St., BYU, Florida and Stanford - but Parker's father said he believes Duke and Michigan State have the best chance to land his son. Parker never took an official visit to Stanford, and BYU fans had the most creative recruiting tactic, but this looks to be a three-horse race, with Duke and Michigan State in the lead. Don't doubt a father's instincts.

Any of these schools would love to have the 6-foot-8 Parker on their team, but with both Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly being seniors, Duke might benefit most because they are in need of another forward.

Parker had fluctuated between the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked player with fellow recruit Julius Randle until Andrew Wiggins reclassified from the 2014 class and is now No. 1 in the class of 2013. Neither Randle or Wiggins have made their college decisions.


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Nike-Sponsored Squads Set For Elite Event in 2017

Nike-sponsored schools will square off in a two-tournament event featuring college basketball's elite in 2017 (nikeblog.com)

It's not too early to look ahead to the 2012 college basketball season, which is three months away. But how about looking ahead to 2017?

Thanks to Michigan State Athletic Director Mark Hollis, the best early-season college basketball tournament won't take place in Maui or Madison Square Garden. This tournament will take place in Portland, and the star power represented by the schools is fitting given the star power of the sponsor they are celebrating. 

According to Andy Katz of ESPN, Hollis was able to receive commitments from 16 Nike-sponsored programs to play in a two-tournament event held over four days in November 2017. This is in celebration of Nike co-founder Phil Knight's 80th birthday, which is the following February.

The premise itself is enticing — having teams sponsored by the same company compete against one another — but it's the programs represented that will make college hoops fans' mouths water. 

The tournament will include a mix of blue bloods (Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Michigan St.), as well as power-conference representatives (Florida, Ohio St., UCONN, Georgetown, Texas, Oklahoma, Stanford and Oregon), and some choice mid-majors (Xavier, Butler, Gonzaga and Portland).

Let that sink in for a moment. No matter the combination of seedings, elite programs will have a hard road to win these two tournaments. Unlike other early-season tournaments, there is no Chaminade in the quarterfinals. Even the "mid-majors" are no one to mess with. This event is loaded from top to bottom.

That's what fans want to see. Why else would this event even be a topic of conversation five years early if it wasn't big? The third game of the year against Towson isn't circled on any calendars. If you think your team is better than Duke, and the team doesn't play in the ACC, then you're excited to play the Blue Devils and find out if you're right. 

This not only is a win for fans and for the teams — this should help boost the RPI at the end of the year — but imagine what this does for Nike. It's hard to say which is more impressive:  that Nike sponsors all of these teams or that, when Hollis came calling with the idea, everyone said yes. The king of sports apparel and marketing will have its name on the biggest regular-season basketball event of the year, maybe even the decade, while every player on the court wears its equipment. 

The only downside is this won't take place for another five years. It's unlikely these teams will plummet to mediocrity during the waiting period, so if this upcoming season is any indication, college hoops fans are in for a treat in 2017.


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