LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self has been alarmed at the number of COVID-19 cases being reported nationwide recently.
"I do know the spikes are at an all-time high with a chance to continue to go up. I am concerned a lot," he said of the virus possibly disrupting the college basketball season, which for KU starts with a game against Gonzaga on Thanksgiving Day.
"I don't think it's going to be unusual for anybody to get shut down based on this (virus). It may be the team that only gets shut down once as opposed to twice for a year (that contends for titles)."
Current NCAA rules call for a team to shut down for two weeks if a player or coach tests positive.
"The thing that is so nerve-racking for a coach and his team ... if a team gets shut down you may miss out on those four games or you may play those four games with not your full roster and when you come back you are not going to be worth a flip because you haven't practiced for two weeks. A shutdown is going to mean a team that is playing a tough schedule will go 0-6. That's the reality of it," Self said.
He noted that his players basically are in a bubble thanks to their apartment complex, McCarthy Hall, which pretty much isolates players from non-team members.
"We have as good a bubble situation as anybody in the country with McCarthy Hall. We bring our student athletes their food. They don't even go out to get their food," Self said. "We sit six feet apart in the locker room. We have to wear a mask in the locker room all the time. It's stuff our players have bought into.
"It doesn't mean guys can't have contact with somebody that's been exposed at any point in time nor coaches or anybody else. All we can do is try to remain as safe as possible knowing even if we do that's still not a guarantee for anything."
Self on Thursday mentioned a pair of programs — one in the Big 12 — affected by COVID just this week.
"Wasn't it reported that OU was shut down. Was it two days ago or something like that?" Self said of University of Oklahoma basketball. "I see Seton Hall was shut down."
Seton Hall announced Wednesday it was halting all team activities at this time. Meanwhile, the Oklahoman reported Thursday after Self's Zoom conference with reporters that a Sooner player had tested positive, forcing a change in the squad's practice structure. According to an Oklahoman source, the Sooners, "moved to individualized workouts this week but avoided a complete shutdown."
OU wouldn't confirm the positive test or change in practice format, the Oklahoman indicated.
"OU Athletics' policy is to report test results cumulatively for our whole athletics department," the statement read as reported by the Oklahoman. "We're not able to confirm or comment on individual sports."
