Ray Smith could not help but smile at Arizonas media day last month, barely able to contain his excitement for the upcoming season.After tearing the ACL in both knees over the previous two seasons, he had every reason to be amped up.His elation did not make it past the first game and now his career is over.Smiths difficult basketball career took another frustrating turn on Tuesday night when the redshirt freshman had to be helped from the court during the No. 10 Wildcats exhibition game against College of Idaho.On Thursday, Arizona coach Sean Miller announced what everyone had hoped would not be the case: Smith tore his right ACL for the second straight year, along with meniscus damage.The torn ACL was Smiths third in three years, leading him to end his basketball career.I love the game of basketball, but I have decided to step away from the game for good, Smith said. I will still be involved with the team and I will still attend THE University of Arizona.Smith went down early against College of Idaho, setting off a collective groan from the McKale Center crowd. He walked off the court to the locker room and returned to the game.Midway through the second half, he went down again and didnt get up. Smith crumpled from the non-contact injury and immediately gestured for help. He was carried off the court.Arizona said in a statement that Smith will have surgery within a month and begin the rehabilitation process.In the 25 years I have been a college basketball coach, I have never felt as helpless as I did when I saw him go down on Tuesday night, Miller said in a statement.No 19-year-old kid should have to experience three season-ending injuries in a 30-month period of time. I have watched Ray work with our strength and conditioning coach tirelessly for two years. I have seen him in our training room around the clock, doing everything he can to play the game he loves. To witness his extraordinary efforts and see this happen to him once again is beyond disheartening.Smith was one of the nations top high school recruits out of Las Vegas, an athletic 6-foot-8 forward who played above the rim and was a versatile defender.He missed his senior season at Las Vegas High School after tearing his left ACL, but was expected to join Allonzo Trier and Justin Simon as the next stars in Tucson last season.Instead, Smith tore his right ACL in practice before the season began.Following a lengthy rehabilitation, Smith returned to the Wildcats this season, ready to get his career back on track.The last two years, I would say, imagine someone who starved for two years, Smith said recently. How much I wanted to compete and watching them compete, that just hurt me and for a while, I just didnt feel like myself. Finally getting a taste of that competition, Im finally getting my swagger back, starting to believe in who I am.Now Smith has to go through it all over again.Miller said last month that he planned to ease Smith back into the fold by limiting his minutes in games, possibly giving him time off at practice. The goal was to give Smith time to regain his strength and confidence.Smith had no trouble running and jumping in practice, but was not able to make it through his first game back.My father once told me that just because someone is a good basketball player doesnt make them a good person. That the sport doesnt define who we are only what we can do, Smith said. Pretty much what Im saying is thank you BASKETBALL youve been GREAT! Sammy Knight Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. 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AUSTIN, Texas -- This week, Texas will launch what state officials say is the nations largest effort to track brain injuries among young athletes.The University Interscholastic League, Texas governing body for public high school sports, is partnering with the ODonnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center for the project, from which they hope to gauge whether rules or equipment changes are improving player safety and what more can be done to protect athletes.A state as large as Texas, which has more than 800,000 public high school athletes, would be a key step in developing a national database of brain injuries in youths, officials say. Already, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is seeking federal funding for such a database.Until we understand what the frequency of concussions is across the state, or a region of the state, we cant determine when rule changes, equipment changes or things like recovery programs are really being effective, said Dr. Munro Cullum, a professor of psychiatry, neurology and neurotherapeutics who will lead the study.All 50 states in recent years have passed rules or laws to address concussions in youth athletics, including research, protocols for identifying concussions, and setting rules for return to play. The CDC has estimated that up to 3.8 million concussions occur in sports and recreational activities each year, but some experts wonder if those numbers underestimate total brain injuries, as some individuals may not seek treatment for mild or moderate symptoms.ddddddddddddThe Texas program will track about 24 sports, recording what caused an injury, recovery time and other data.Other states have researched head injuries too.In Michigan, which requires schools to report concussions, a recent study showed 755 schools reported 4,452 head injuries in the 2015-16 school year. Football had the most -- 1,907 -- and girls basketball ranked No. 2 with 454.It tracked details such as to whether the injury occurred in practice or a game, whether the athlete had to miss class and how long it took him or her to return to competition. That research is being shared with Michigan States Institute for the Study of Youth Sports.The Texas study will collect more concussion data than it has before, University Interscholastic League deputy director Jamey Harrison said. Currently, only one school from each district is required to report concussions as part of a weekly injury reporting system, though each school in the football playoffs is required to report concussions.Right now its a sample that is just a snapshot. Its not scientific, Harrison said. We need to move beyond that. ' ' '