Inevitably, one of the main topics of Jay Wright's Thursday press conference was the COVID situation. Cases are spiking nationally as college basketball is just weeks away from starting its season, and everyone is wondering how things will go and what it's like for a college program trying to navigate these circumstances. Here's a roundup of Thursday's COVID discussion.
Wright said it's constantly on his mind. The program received its results from yesterday's testing today (no positives) and Wright said it was the first thing he thought about when he woke up. “I lay in bed at night and think about it," Wright said. "We got in here today, everybody’s good and you just take a sigh of relief and then you know you got two days and then you test the next day. It’s a crazy way to go through the season. But I think all of us are willing to do whatever we have to to play basketball.” The program is testing every three days at this point.
In addition to following guidance from the university, the Big East, and state and local officials, the program is doing everything it can to be proactive and keep everyone safe and healthy. "We have created our own version of a bubble on campus where our guys are really isolated and we’ve gotta leave it up to the honor system and I’m really proud of these guys, so far so good." Wright said.
Wright noted that doctors have made it clear that the only way to ensure an uninterrupted season is to have a bubble. The Big East has explored the idea, but there are simply too many obstacles to making it happen. Unlike the NBA, colleges would have to also set up a bubble for women's teams and ultimately the cost is prohibitive. As a result, Wright expects there to be interruptions and disruptions during the season. "One of our challenges is that we’re indoors. We’re gonna have an interrupted season. That’s why the Big East is holding on to their January/February schedule because we’re trying to get in as much as we can in December and then figure out how we leave space for games to be able to make them up in January/February.”
Still, he is confident they will be able to get through it and have a representative season that culminates with the NCAA tournament. “We are following everything the pro sports do, we’re following college football just to learn anything we can," Wright said. "I think we can be better (than college football) because we’re watching, we’re learning everything. Hopefully we all learn lessons and put protocols in place."
Wright also noted that they are still working under the assumtption that they will be able to have 15% capacity at the Pavilion, and that season ticket holders have volunteered to give up their seats so students can be the ones to attend games. That's a great gesture, and I'm almost certain we have some season ticket holders among our members, so kudos to you all.
Wright said it's constantly on his mind. The program received its results from yesterday's testing today (no positives) and Wright said it was the first thing he thought about when he woke up. “I lay in bed at night and think about it," Wright said. "We got in here today, everybody’s good and you just take a sigh of relief and then you know you got two days and then you test the next day. It’s a crazy way to go through the season. But I think all of us are willing to do whatever we have to to play basketball.” The program is testing every three days at this point.
In addition to following guidance from the university, the Big East, and state and local officials, the program is doing everything it can to be proactive and keep everyone safe and healthy. "We have created our own version of a bubble on campus where our guys are really isolated and we’ve gotta leave it up to the honor system and I’m really proud of these guys, so far so good." Wright said.
Wright noted that doctors have made it clear that the only way to ensure an uninterrupted season is to have a bubble. The Big East has explored the idea, but there are simply too many obstacles to making it happen. Unlike the NBA, colleges would have to also set up a bubble for women's teams and ultimately the cost is prohibitive. As a result, Wright expects there to be interruptions and disruptions during the season. "One of our challenges is that we’re indoors. We’re gonna have an interrupted season. That’s why the Big East is holding on to their January/February schedule because we’re trying to get in as much as we can in December and then figure out how we leave space for games to be able to make them up in January/February.”
Still, he is confident they will be able to get through it and have a representative season that culminates with the NCAA tournament. “We are following everything the pro sports do, we’re following college football just to learn anything we can," Wright said. "I think we can be better (than college football) because we’re watching, we’re learning everything. Hopefully we all learn lessons and put protocols in place."
Wright also noted that they are still working under the assumtption that they will be able to have 15% capacity at the Pavilion, and that season ticket holders have volunteered to give up their seats so students can be the ones to attend games. That's a great gesture, and I'm almost certain we have some season ticket holders among our members, so kudos to you all.