COLOMBIA – South Carolina completed a schedule of 10 football matches without any postponement or cancellation. Gamecocks’ other autumn sports also played all of their competitions on schedule, except for a men’s soccer match that was canceled when the opponent had a COVID spurt.
Perhaps it was just living on borrowed time, or that basketball has the closest contact with any sport, but USC’s luck ran out on Tuesday. The men’s basketball team is paused after some COVID tests were positive, forcing Thursday’s game with Wofford to be canceled and triggering another round of tests on Wednesday that will determine the status of the games in the next two weeks.
“Our guys usually have a way out. Family, friends, a date, a party … even if it’s the season, I want them to be human beings, ”said coach Frank Martin on Tuesday, hours before the announcement. “Just stay away from the stupid things that they don’t need to be around. At the moment, they don’t have an outlet. “
The Gamecocks revealed their diagnosis on the same day as Houston. The Cougars won the USC on their court on Saturday, but were also closed due to COVID.
It seems to be where the USC was infected, but there is no way of telling if this is right and there is no point in pointing out when it happened. What is done is done, and the first priority was to make sure that the Gamecocks were safe and that they did not spread any further.
The USC fifth-place women’s team uses the same practice space as the men’s team (the revamped Carolina Coliseum) and practiced on Tuesday morning.
A team spokesman confirmed that all common areas on the premises, including the weight and training rooms, are sterilized several times a day and the actual training court, including tables and chairs for video viewing, is cleaned between each workout. .
The women’s team does not play again until December 17th. The men’s team was due to play at George Washington on Monday. Other games that are in or against the standard two-week isolation for a program affected by COVID are December 19 hosting Clemson and December 23 hosting SC State.
Martin hired COVID in early June and recovered, although there were side effects. He said many times that he feels good, but sometimes a little awkward, and his hair started to fall in patches.
Martin took care of the second problem by shaving his head. As he said, if this is the worst thing that happens to you after getting sick, he will accept it.
But he is concerned about his players, who have been on campus since June and simply cannot have a normal college life. Even players who are a few hours away from home cannot go there.
“(Seventh Woods, a native of Columbia), he can’t drive home and leave with his family after a bad or good day. He has to go back to his apartment and basically stay close to the players at all times, ”said Martin. “I don’t go out to dinner with my wife, or take my kids to the movies to distract my mind from the rigors of the next day of practice or play.”
Mental health is just as important as physical health, and Gamecocks are now being challenged to achieve both before they can return to the court.
“Mental health for these children is a complicated formula because they have no escape at the moment. If the fans, the media, you, the average Joe, if you want to be very, very critical of me, do that, ”said Martin. “But this is not the year to beat players. This is not the year to judge the good days and the bad days too much. We should all celebrate the days we have to go out there and play. “
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.