Do you think players and coaches have a hard time reconciling COVID-19 and a fuzzy college basketball schedule? How about one of the busiest college basketball officials?
Teddy Valentine was heading to the car parked in his Charleston garage this week for an afternoon ride to Greenville when notified that the VMI-Furman game had been canceled because of positive COVID-19 tests within the VMI program.
Good news in any other season.
Another Monday in 2021.
March Madness will have nothing strange from November to February.
Valentine, an NCAA Division I referee since 1981, was an hour away from Richmond when a Spiders game was canceled and almost reached Louisville when he said to return.
He had to redirect from airport lobbies.
“They say ‘postponed’, but it is usually canceled,” said Valentine. “At least I wasn’t on an airplane or in a locker room when it happened. But some guys (fellow referees) were. “
Virtually the only normal thing in the Valentine’s Day travel routine is the free coffee that lucky Starbucks customers get when they stand in line behind the best-known college sports official.
Every time Valentine is at Starbucks, which is every day, he orders his Café Americana or Almond Milk Cold Brew and then pays for the person behind him.
“I only do this because, I don’t know, I was brought up the right way,” said Valentine, 62, raised by a single mother in Moundsville, W. Va. “Right now you have COVID going on. People are sneezing and no one says ‘God bless you’. People are paranoid. So, I just try to do things for people. It’s a habit. “
Valentine has worked with over 40 games this season – ACC, SEC, Southern Conference, Colonial, Big South and other conferences. This is out of step with the typical 80’s season total, but a small miracle.
College basketball referees are COVID tested four times a week, said Valentine, who received his first vaccine injected in South Carolina last week. They wear masks during breaks and when talking to coaches and players.
Those bracelets?
For contact tracking.
Coaches wearing masks and shouting orders are, Valentine said, like ventriloquists.
“It’s kinda weird. The places I have been and where we have received a few crowds have been fun, but with so many political or CDC guidelines, there are not many places like that, ”said Valentine. “Wichita State, Clemson and Florida State have crowds. Other than that, you don’t see many fans. Maybe 100 people. “
But the games are still on TV.
What allows “TV Teddy”, right?
‘TV Teddy’ mellows
Valentine earned the nickname for extravagant, sometimes straightforward style and famous clashes over a career that included four NCAA championship games. After Valentine expelled the irascible Indiana icon Bob Knight during a loss to Illinois in 1998, the exile Knight went out of his way to almost bump into Valentine on his way to the locker room.
Valentine received a lot of attention in 2012, when he met with Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Tubby Smith of Minnesota, putting an arm around each trainer during a shootout dispute.
“I’m not really ‘TV Teddy,'” Valentine insisted.
Reputation, he said, is a mistake. Clearly, the man softened, tying Teddy TV to conflict early in his career.
“Look where I was working,” Valentine said. “The Grand Orient with John Thompson and Rollie Massimino. The Big Ten with Bob Knight and Gene Keady. You know, some characters. “
He prefers to look ahead. Valentine and his wife Linda Sue make constant use of a home gym. He also works on the road, hoping to extend his basketball career for as many seasons as possible.
It has been a difficult year for everyone. Valentine was close to Thompson, the former Georgetown coach who died in August, and ex-Temple coach John Chaney, who died on January 29.
“They were just good guys, friends and mentors,” said Valentine. “They were strong blacks. They helped make my career. “
Keyontae Johnson incident
Valentine was working on the Florida-Florida State game on December 12, when the Gators star, Keyontae Johnson, collapsed on the court. Johnson was eventually transferred from Tallahassee to a hospital in Gainesville and was discharged, but did not return to basketball. His medical condition was not disclosed.
“I saw the whole thing,” Valentine said. “It made me shiver and shiver. I went to the floor. I knelt and prayed. He’s somebody’s son. Watching the boy fall and scream for help bothered me for a few days. “
Comfort is found in the family and in the church.
Also in line for coffee.
This week, Valentine was at the drive-through at the Starbucks location on International Boulevard in North Charleston.
“When I got to the window, the woman said, ‘The guy in front of you just paid for you,'” said Valentine. “I was like, ‘What?’ I don’t normally see that. “
Of course, Valentine paid for the next customer.
Follow Gene Sapakoff on Twitter @sapakoff.