Photo by: Austin Michaels
Mountaineers Hoping to Manage Their Way to Success in COVID Era
November 19, 2020 04:30 PM | Men's Basketball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The world received some encouraging news earlier this week when Pfizer and Moderna announced successful COVID-19 vaccine trials, meaning a vaccine could be available to the general public in a matter of weeks.
That's great news for the United States, which recently surpassed the grim milestone of 250,000 deaths due to the virus. It's also great news for college basketball with teams across the country just days away from opening the 2020-21 campaign next Wednesday, Nov. 25.
So, how will this year's college basketball season look?
The Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has probably given us a little teaser.
Since the tournament moved from the Bahamas and changed its name, Duke, Ohio State, Dayton, Utah and now Texas A&M have pulled out.
The updated, eight-team field as of this morning includes Northern Iowa, St. Mary's, South Dakota State, Utah State to go with the four original teams West Virginia, Memphis, Creighton and Wichita State.
"I'm confident we're going to have a season and I'm confident we'll have an (NCAA) tournament, but I'm not confident we're going to play a season without interruptions," Kansas coach Bill Self said earlier today on the Big 12's preseason coaches' teleconference. "I know the max number is 27, and some schools may get to that number, but I think there will be interruptions."
"We're just trying to get enough guys to play the first game and I think that will be a constant battle as we prepare each week," TCU coach Jamie Dixon added.
Cancellations, postponements and empty arenas are most likely going to be a part of our immediate future until a vaccine is widely distributed. And, based on what you read, for the virus to fully get under control, upwards of 70% of the people are going to have to take it.
Will that happen? Who knows?
But that is likely when everyday life returns to some sense of normalcy, albeit post-COVID-19 normalcy much like post-9/11 normalcy following the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
A recent study conducted by Seton Hall University's Sharkey Institute indicted that more than 60% of sports fans said they are waiting for a vaccine before watching games in person. A similar poll last April revealed that 72% of sports fans were unwilling to attend any events until a vaccine is developed.
So, while the needle is beginning to trend in a more positive direction, we're still far from a place where the vast majority of sports fans are willing to watch games in person again.
That means it's not business as usual for college basketball programs. West Virginia's Bob Huggins is certainly a realist about the situation.
"We've had guys out, back in and out. I said to them to start out the season, 'The national champion may not be the best team, but the team that manages these circumstances the best. If you really want to win, then we're going to have to do a great job of management,'" Huggins said recently.
Management is really another word for sacrifice - something the players are accustomed to doing anyway.
"We've talked about it as a team," junior guard Jordan McCabe said recently. "If you want to do something on a Saturday night, call up a teammate or call up a group of teammates and that's what we will do. We get together. All through my career I've been blessed to be on teams that are extremely tight-knit and this team is no different – maybe the most tight-knit group I've been a part of."
Junior Emmitt Matthews Jr. agrees.
"We all kind of voiced our opinion on that and if we do all want to hang out we'll all come together as a team and we'll go to one of the players' apartment and gets some pizza and watch some games," he said. "That's about what we're used to now and that's kind of the new lifestyle."
It seems sacrifice is not a popular word for some to use these days, for whatever reason.
"You have kids that don't really care and then you have kids that do care," Matthews explains. "There are kids that go out all of the time and you see it on their Snapchat and Instagram stories. They're out there having a fun time, but it's just one of those sacrifices we have to make because at the end of the day we all have a goal of winning a national championship so we have to give up those things for that.
"And I'm fine with that."
Junior forward Derek Culver believes it only takes one bad choice to have repercussions for the entire team.
"The virus, you never know when it can get you so if you take the right precautions and stay one step ahead of getting sick and getting your teammates sick, it's a domino effect," he said. "I feel like the team that's going to be there at the end is going to be the team that's the most self-disciplined and listens to the finer details like being 6 feet away when you go to certain areas.
"This COVID thing has surprised me; it's a lot more serious than I thought it was," he added.
McCabe said the most logical thing to do is to listen to the doctors and follow the advice of the medical experts.
"None of us are doctors so nobody knows what this means. If you already had it, can you get it again?" he said. "A lot of things are kind of up in the air so we're going to try and maintain as much consistency with how we go about our daily lives, especially as we move closer to the season.
"We would like to be able to do certain things in our life away from basketball, but you can't," he admitted. "If you want to play, you can't jeopardize that, and we're all pretty much on the same page."
That means putting up with some nuisances in the short term to get to a much better place in the long term.
"In terms of everyday life, you do what you can," McCabe reasoned. "If somebody wants to get a picture I put my mask on and take a picture, or when talking to somebody I keep a safe distance.
"It's just learning how to live life in this crazy time when everybody else is dealing with the same type of thing," he said. "What adjustments do you make? There is just a little bit more riding on it for guys like us right now."
"This year isn't going to be the team that's the best or the most skilled or the tallest, it's going to be the team that's the most resilient," Matthews added. "We're all college students at the end of the day and when you get to college, obviously partying is one thing we all have to give up. We don't have time to go hang out all of the time. You can't really do that because, for one, we're getting tested every three days and if one of your tests pops up positive you are sitting out for 10 days. Then, you've got to do all of the other tests to make sure your heart and everything is okay."
To the players, it's simply a matter of using common sense.
"There are so many unknowns with this virus and everything that's going on around the country, and you pray that everybody just stays safe, but at the same time we want to play basketball," McCabe said. "That's what we came here to do. We think it can be done in a safe and reasonable manner."
In a year unlike any other, Huggins is encouraged by what he's seen so far from his guys. They have taken a mature, responsible approach to a situation that requires mature and thoughtful actions.
This is usually the blueprint for any successful team - worldwide pandemic or not.
"I can't say enough about our guys' attitudes through this whole deal. They've been terrific," Huggins concluded.
That's great news for the United States, which recently surpassed the grim milestone of 250,000 deaths due to the virus. It's also great news for college basketball with teams across the country just days away from opening the 2020-21 campaign next Wednesday, Nov. 25.
So, how will this year's college basketball season look?
The Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has probably given us a little teaser.
Since the tournament moved from the Bahamas and changed its name, Duke, Ohio State, Dayton, Utah and now Texas A&M have pulled out.
The updated, eight-team field as of this morning includes Northern Iowa, St. Mary's, South Dakota State, Utah State to go with the four original teams West Virginia, Memphis, Creighton and Wichita State.
"I'm confident we're going to have a season and I'm confident we'll have an (NCAA) tournament, but I'm not confident we're going to play a season without interruptions," Kansas coach Bill Self said earlier today on the Big 12's preseason coaches' teleconference. "I know the max number is 27, and some schools may get to that number, but I think there will be interruptions."
"We're just trying to get enough guys to play the first game and I think that will be a constant battle as we prepare each week," TCU coach Jamie Dixon added.
Cancellations, postponements and empty arenas are most likely going to be a part of our immediate future until a vaccine is widely distributed. And, based on what you read, for the virus to fully get under control, upwards of 70% of the people are going to have to take it.
Will that happen? Who knows?
But that is likely when everyday life returns to some sense of normalcy, albeit post-COVID-19 normalcy much like post-9/11 normalcy following the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
A recent study conducted by Seton Hall University's Sharkey Institute indicted that more than 60% of sports fans said they are waiting for a vaccine before watching games in person. A similar poll last April revealed that 72% of sports fans were unwilling to attend any events until a vaccine is developed.
So, while the needle is beginning to trend in a more positive direction, we're still far from a place where the vast majority of sports fans are willing to watch games in person again.
That means it's not business as usual for college basketball programs. West Virginia's Bob Huggins is certainly a realist about the situation.
"We've had guys out, back in and out. I said to them to start out the season, 'The national champion may not be the best team, but the team that manages these circumstances the best. If you really want to win, then we're going to have to do a great job of management,'" Huggins said recently.Management is really another word for sacrifice - something the players are accustomed to doing anyway.
"We've talked about it as a team," junior guard Jordan McCabe said recently. "If you want to do something on a Saturday night, call up a teammate or call up a group of teammates and that's what we will do. We get together. All through my career I've been blessed to be on teams that are extremely tight-knit and this team is no different – maybe the most tight-knit group I've been a part of."
Junior Emmitt Matthews Jr. agrees.
"We all kind of voiced our opinion on that and if we do all want to hang out we'll all come together as a team and we'll go to one of the players' apartment and gets some pizza and watch some games," he said. "That's about what we're used to now and that's kind of the new lifestyle."
It seems sacrifice is not a popular word for some to use these days, for whatever reason.
"You have kids that don't really care and then you have kids that do care," Matthews explains. "There are kids that go out all of the time and you see it on their Snapchat and Instagram stories. They're out there having a fun time, but it's just one of those sacrifices we have to make because at the end of the day we all have a goal of winning a national championship so we have to give up those things for that.
"And I'm fine with that."
Junior forward Derek Culver believes it only takes one bad choice to have repercussions for the entire team.
"The virus, you never know when it can get you so if you take the right precautions and stay one step ahead of getting sick and getting your teammates sick, it's a domino effect," he said. "I feel like the team that's going to be there at the end is going to be the team that's the most self-disciplined and listens to the finer details like being 6 feet away when you go to certain areas.
"This COVID thing has surprised me; it's a lot more serious than I thought it was," he added.
McCabe said the most logical thing to do is to listen to the doctors and follow the advice of the medical experts.
"None of us are doctors so nobody knows what this means. If you already had it, can you get it again?" he said. "A lot of things are kind of up in the air so we're going to try and maintain as much consistency with how we go about our daily lives, especially as we move closer to the season.
"We would like to be able to do certain things in our life away from basketball, but you can't," he admitted. "If you want to play, you can't jeopardize that, and we're all pretty much on the same page."
That means putting up with some nuisances in the short term to get to a much better place in the long term.
"In terms of everyday life, you do what you can," McCabe reasoned. "If somebody wants to get a picture I put my mask on and take a picture, or when talking to somebody I keep a safe distance.
"It's just learning how to live life in this crazy time when everybody else is dealing with the same type of thing," he said. "What adjustments do you make? There is just a little bit more riding on it for guys like us right now."
"This year isn't going to be the team that's the best or the most skilled or the tallest, it's going to be the team that's the most resilient," Matthews added. "We're all college students at the end of the day and when you get to college, obviously partying is one thing we all have to give up. We don't have time to go hang out all of the time. You can't really do that because, for one, we're getting tested every three days and if one of your tests pops up positive you are sitting out for 10 days. Then, you've got to do all of the other tests to make sure your heart and everything is okay."
To the players, it's simply a matter of using common sense.
"There are so many unknowns with this virus and everything that's going on around the country, and you pray that everybody just stays safe, but at the same time we want to play basketball," McCabe said. "That's what we came here to do. We think it can be done in a safe and reasonable manner."
In a year unlike any other, Huggins is encouraged by what he's seen so far from his guys. They have taken a mature, responsible approach to a situation that requires mature and thoughtful actions.
This is usually the blueprint for any successful team - worldwide pandemic or not.
"I can't say enough about our guys' attitudes through this whole deal. They've been terrific," Huggins concluded.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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