The last time Bobby or Danny Hurley coached a basketball game was in March, just before their conference tournaments, and ultimately the NCAA tournament was called off by the start of the COVID-19[femininepandémie.
Maintenant, les natifs de Jersey City et les anciennes stars du lycée de St. Anthony sont tous deux sur le point de recommencer à entraîner mercredi lorsque la saison de basket-ball universitaire 2020-21 commencera.
Les deux frères espèrent que leurs saisons se termineront par des descentes profondes dans le premier tournoi de la NCAA qui se tiendra dans une bulle, probablement à Indianapolis. Mais comment se déroule la saison et combien de matchs sont perturbés ou annulés au milieu de la pandémie, c’est à chacun de deviner.
Avant même le début de la saison, le calendrier de l’Arizona State a été bouleversé lorsque L’entraîneur du Baylor, Scott Drew, a annoncé dimanche qu’il avait été testé positif au COVID. Le numéro 2 Baylor devait affronter le numéro 18 de l’Arizona State mercredi dans l’Empire Classic au Mohegan Sun Arena à Uncasville, Connecticut, mais maintenant Baylor n’apparaîtra plus du tout dans l’événement. Au lieu de cela, Rhode Island affrontera Arizona State, avec le n ° 3 Villanova face au Boston College dans l’autre match mercredi. L’événement se poursuit jeudi.
“Je pense qu’après avoir vécu cela au cours des huit derniers mois environ, cela vous a donné une plus grande appréciation de l’opportunité de faire ce que vous aimez faire et nos gars sont donc très excités de commencer”, Bobby Hurley, l’entraîneur de l’Arizona State, a déclaré à NJ Advance Media.
‘SOYEZ VRAIMENT ADAPTABLE’
Déjà pendant la pré-saison, plus de 30 écoles de Division 1 ont suspendu ou annulé leurs saisons en raison de tests COVID positifs, y compris des pauses de sept des 11 équipes du Big East. La NCAA recommande une pause de 14 jours pour tout individu de niveau 1 dont le test est positif, ce qui inclut les étudiants-athlètes et le personnel essentiel du basket-ball dont la fonction professionnelle nécessite un accès direct aux joueurs de manière régulière.
Salle Séton est entré dans une pause le 11 novembre et devrait émerger cette semaine avant leur premier match de saison vendredi à Louisville. Baylor devrait jouer à Seton Hall dimanche au Prudential Center, mais ce match était dans les limbes lundi soir.
L’équipe UConn de Danny Hurley est sortie de quarantaine le 19 novembre et doit ouvrir la saison mercredi contre Central Connecticut State. La Ivy League est devenu la première conférence de Division I à annuler les sports d’hiver, impactant huit programmes masculins et huit programmes féminins. Onze matchs initialement prévus mercredi ont été reportés ou annulés, dont les débuts de Rick Pitino à Iona, selon ESPN.
« Si cela arrive déjà à tous ces programmes, la probabilité [is] Whether you’re going to be subject to a stoppage or a cancellation, a missed game, you just have to be really adaptable and ready to hold things together when the going gets tough anytime this year, ”said Bobby Hurley, who managed Duke won two NCAA Championships in the early 1990s and was the 7th pick in the 1993 NBA Draft.
After his team announced a positive COVID test on November 5, Danny Hurley said UConn was considering delaying the start of his team’s season.
“It takes weeks to recover from two missing weeks of training,” he said on November 12. “We’re very concerned about the well-being of our guys when they come back, how much push them into training, do we need to adjust our non-conference schedule to where we are now.
Bobby and Danny speak to each other regularly and in a conversation last week the older brother sympathized with the younger brother’s situation.
“It looks like a lot of programs in the East are going there,” Bobby said. “It’s sort of a revolving door. Certain regions of the country are particularly affected at different times. We got ours in July when most of the country was doing pretty well and we had a really bad situation here. [in Arizona]. So just know that Dan was on shutdown and they were finally released [Thursday], it is difficult for his preparation and to know where the matches are with such a short start to the season.
‘BE EVEN MORE CAREFUL’
The two Hurley brothers will coach their first games in Connecticut on Wednesday, and in a normal world, their father, Naismith Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr., would make the trip with his wife Chris to watch the games. (Arizona State will play again Thursday against Villanova or Boston College.)
But it’s not a normal year and the senior Hurleys don’t take any trips. They are going to stay at home in Jersey City and watch the games on TV. No ventilators are allowed at UConn or the Mohegan Sun, and only a limited number of family members are allowed.
“I’m watching these next games here for UConn, for Arizona State, any of the guys from St. Anthony going to college. … I just think all we can watch on TV is what we’re going to do, ”said Bob Hurley Sr., 73, who has had health problems recently but is feeling better now. “I’m even more careful than I was.”
As for Bobby and the Sun Devils, they were due to get tested for COVID at home before flying across the country to play in the Mohegan Sun “Bubbleville,” which will host 45 games in 11 days between November 25 and December. 5. They will undergo a saliva PCR test before each game.
“It will be a start for us on Monday, do our tests and just get on the ground and then fly across the country and then we will test immediately when we get to Mohegan Sun,” Bobby said.
“No. 1, we were comfortable with the security protocols that the tournament was implementing and that was a major factor, just providing a safe environment for our guys,” he added. “We are very comfortable with the measures they were taking. We’re chartering so we’re going to avoid commercial airlines and airports, so we’re doing everything we can to give ourselves a chance to limit exposure.
LET’S DANCE, PLEASE
While Bobby and Arizona State will be among the competing teams in the Mohegan Sun bubble, it is possible that Danny and UConn will end up in a Big East bubble there in early 2021 for conference matches and / or the Big East Tournament.
“I think the big leagues will end up going into a bubble in January so they can play in league games and there will be a protocol,” said Bob Sr.
Both brothers have teams capable of making the NCAA tournament, which will be held in one location instead of the 13 separate ones as originally planned.
“I like the decision if they continue to get the approvals,” Bobby said. “Indiana is a great state, they love basketball. That’s great potential for the NCAA tournament if that’s the direction they choose to go.
The NCAA lost $ 375 million last year canceling the Big Dance and can’t afford to do the same. Teams must play a minimum of 13 games to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
“We can’t help but have an NCAA tournament this year,” said Bob Sr.
“We all just have to experience this, watch it from a distance, support our team by proxy, then wait for the NCAA tournament, then hopefully 68 teams are selected from all who can play the games and we can play the game. better version of what we are used to seeing.
GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Wednesday
Sacré-Cœur at n ° 24 Rutgers, 7 p.m. BTN Plus
No. 18 Arizona State – Rhode Island, 7 p.m., ESPN
No.3 Villanova – Boston College, 9:30 p.m., ESPN
Thursday
No. 1 Gonzaga – No. 6 Kansas, 1:30 p.m., FOX
# 3 Villanova – Arizona State # 18, 9:30 a.m., ESPN
Friday
Séton room at Louisville, 4 p.m. ESPN
FDU at No. 24 Rutgers, 7 p.m., BTN
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter covering Seton Hall and NJ College Basketball for NJ Advance Media.