Izzo said stress fractures, which result from overuse of a particular bone, were unheard of in his day. He said he could consider giving his players a break during the summer to recover from the grind of the season.

“This summer — boy, it’s scary to say this — but there might be a month off where I say, ‘You guys, I don’t want you here,’” Izzo said. “‘I don’t want you working on your game.’ I have to figure this out. And I think all coaches do.”

College basketball players often have a lot of miles on their bodies as a result of rigorous AAU schedules in high school. That, along with the fact that many athletes are not two-sport athletes, is a reason for the increase in stress fractures according to Izzo, who played basketball and football when he was a student at Northern Michigan.

“You played two sports,” Izzo said of the norm when he was in college. “You did other things. You didn’t use the same muscles. You didn’t use the same bones, and you didn’t play at that rate. You played kickball in the grass. You think about a basketball player, even over a football player, the pounding on that every day.”

Izzo got in-depth on the culture of athletes spending extended hours in the gym, using freshman guard Javon Bess’ injury as an example. Bess missed a month with an injury to his right foot in October, and had a reputation as a gym rat coming out of high school.

According to Izzo, Bess’ injury is not a result of lengthy practices, but the wear-and-tear on his body leading up to the injury.

“You read a story that a guy is working out morning, noon and night,” Izzo said. “I might give my guys a month off, then well, Izzo shouldn’t get paid for that month because nobody is working.”

Izzo acknowledges that there is no easy solution to figuring out the problem. But he vowed to come up with a solution. And the answer could be as simple as giving players rest.

“I am going to say, I don’t give a frick what they say anymore,” Izzo said. “I’m going to figure out what is right. I’m going to call coaches, and I’m going to figure it out, but we are. There has been an incredible number of these stress fracture, non-game, practice injuries."