Happy Friday! History was made last night with Caitlin Clark becoming the NCAA’s leading scorer.

However…

TCU is also etching their name in the history books this season. They have become the first team to host open tryouts for the entire student body due to a shortage of healthy scholarship players.

So, in the annals of collegiate athletics, alongside Caitlin Clark's milestone, TCU's unprecedented situation this season is also etched.

Let’s get into it! 👇️ 

TODAY’S STORY
💥TCU’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM IS CURSED

BACKGROUND ON TODAY’S STORY

I don’t know what’s in the water down there, but I’m convinced that TCU (and UConn) is cursed.

Out of over 350 basketball programs, TCU has made history by being the first team to hold open tryouts mid-season because of a slew of injured players.

Just to put things into perspective, TCU was crushing it at the beginning of this season. For the first time in years I might add. They progressed all the way to a 14-0 record and then etched their name into the history books.

Things were looking great, not only because of their undefeated run but also because they were under new coaching leadership and benefiting from the immediate impact of practically an entirely new team consisting of transfers.

And then one by one, their players were getting sidelined to the bench from injuries.

After posting hundreds of flyers across campus, TCU hosted tryouts for the student body with the following criteria:

• A recent physical test

• High school basketball experience

• Full time TCU student

THE IMPACT

In a surprising turn of events, following TCU's groundbreaking move to host mid-season open tryouts, Arizona's women's basketball program followed suit.

While Arizona may not have been enjoying an undefeated streak like TCU, the parallel occurrence raises eyebrows.

From an outsider's perspective, it looks like there's been a surge in injuries lately. However, it’s probably attributed to heightened media coverage, with every university taking the opportunity to update you on every single social media platform in existence and then subsequently echoing down to every national and local news platform.

Whereas previously, injuries might have only been briefly mentioned during pre-game or post-game interviews with the Head Coach.

Nicole Alexander, head trainer for the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and former trainer at Notre Dame and North Carolina, observed that young athletes are focusing on one sport from an early age and participating in year-round play.

#MakeMultiAthletesFunAgainForKids

“So, they’re not getting a chance to rest their bodies,” Alexander said. “You’re putting the same amount of mileage on the same body parts, over and over again. So, now you get these kids who are in college, but their bodies are such that it’s almost like they’ve been playing professional ball for 10 years because that’s all they’ve been doing.”

Dr. Andrew Cosgarea, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports injuries at Johns Hopkins, has noted that there is currently no data indicating an increase in injuries compared to previous seasons. He highlighted the efforts made by schools to educate athletes on injury prevention techniques, such as modifying cutting, jumping, and landing mechanics to reduce the risk of ACL and other injuries.

……….maybe the effects are delayed.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While TCU has made history with the first open tryouts for NARPs (non-athletic regular people), it's worth noting that this doesn't encompass the other programs that had to cancel games this season due to insufficient roster numbers.

Diana Taurasi said it best during The Bird & Taurasi show last year during the Final Four. “Think about these kids…they’re working with personal trainers in college. I was pounding beers and cheeseburgers in college.”

If Taurasi can become Taurasi on her college diet, I think these kids can tone it down a bit.

Coach Mark Campbell described his (former healthy) team as “Americas team”. I mean, technically that label is already taken, but let’s see what he whips out next season.

Relevant articles from today’s story

👉️ Without enough players to compete, TCU women’s basketball turns to student body (The Athletic)

👉️ Women’s basketball: Why all the injuries? (Pioneer Press)

👉️ Stop eating healthy and eat like Diana Taurasi (Between Courts)