Kansas Forward Out of NCAA Championships

By Tom Keppeler, Knee1 Staff

University of Kansas freshman Bryant Nash will miss the remainder of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships due to a strained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

Team doctors confirmed Tuesday that Nash, who plays forward for the Number-4 seeded Jayhawks, sprained the MCL. The injury will take Nash out of play, leaving the team with only seven healthy scholarship players. “It’s something we hate to have happen,” KU coach Roy Williams said in a statement. “It’s been a tough, tough time for us with the injury problems we have had this year.”

Nash, a 6-foot-6 forward from Carlton, Texas, played in 24 of the team’s 30 games, garnering 1.2 rebounds per game in an average 5.1 minutes per game, the university said. His team will play California State at Northridge on Friday.

The medial collateral ligament runs from the inside of the femur, or thighbone, to the inside of the tibia, or shinbone. The MCL, as it is commonly known, works with the other three major ligaments in the knee joint to stabilize it. A sprain to the ligament is usually treated conservatively—that is, without surgery—until it regains strength enough to stabilize the joint.

To read more about MCL injuries, click here.