A player with the Charlotte Hornets tested positive for COVID 19, the virus also hit the Charlotte 49ers heavily; bouncing balls are out of North Carolina high school basketball and the No. 1 Lady Gamecocks lost to NC State. With “All Things Considered” host Gwendolyn Glenn, to talk about these topics and more, is Langston Wertz Jr., a longtime sports journalist for the Charlotte Observer.
Gwendolyn Glenn: I don’t know about you, Langston, but I was surprised that NC State’s 8th women’s basketball team defeated Lady Gamecocks, No. 1 at the University of South Carolina, a few days ago.
Wertz: Yes, it was a big victory for them. I mean, South Carolina hit 28% of the field. Whenever you do this, you will have problems against a good team. And people forget that NC State is one of the top 10 teams, very well trained, very talented and on the rise.
Glenn: Lady Gamecocks beat Iowa State 83-65 on Sunday, so do you think the NC State defeat was just a bad game for them?
Langston: No, I think sometimes when you, you know, you had a long winning streak, you were number one and everyone is saying how good you are – sometimes you need to hit the pedestal a little bit to wake up a little bit. I think it might be an alert for South Carolina. They have to listen to the coach. They have to play together.
Glenn: Well, let’s move on to the COVID-19 positive test. I understand that the Carolina Panthers had a positive player test. Tell us about it.
Wertz: Yes, some of the great media reporters are saying that there are two players with positive results, one of whom we now know is DJ Moore. The question is, we don’t know if he just tested positive on his own or he will be one of those cases where they will have to contact other players and put them in the protocol as well. The Panthers already have two players on the COVID-19 list, striker Yetur Gross-Matos and Bruce Hector. Therefore, it is not yet known what the full impact of DJ Moore’s situation will be on the Denver game.
Glenn: And I understand that the facility is closed today in terms of practice.
Wertz: Yes, it is closed Monday and Tuesday. Standard protocol type when these things happen. And until we get more information, it’s really difficult to know exactly what will happen with the Panthers entering Sunday’s game.
Glenn: So, what’s new with the Hornets? They had a positive test there too.
Wertz: Yes, Malik Monk, a former Kentucky star, tested positive. He was one of 48 NBA players who tested positive. The Hornets begin pre-season games on December 12. They hope he is already back. But apparently, this was just a case just for him and it’s not a situation where they have to sit down with other players.
Glenn: Let’s move on to UNC Charlotte and the 49ers who played their first game in over a month on Sunday. They lost to Western Kentucky 37-19. Did they have eight games canceled or postponed because of the pandemic? How is this affecting the team?
Wertz: Ultimately you get rusty. They look like a team that hasn’t played in a long time, can’t feel, can’t play. And then, you know the “Finally let’s play … oh, let’s not play” high, week after week after week. It takes a toll on you. It just has to be.
Glenn: Now, 49ers coach Will Healy recently revealed that he also contracted the virus?
Wertz: Yes. Yes. He told Scott Fowler of Charlotte Observer that the test was positive and was almost asymptomatic. You know, he was like, you know, in the season when my team was so hit, I was hit too. It has really been a tough season for the Charlotte 49ers. It is almost one of those things that we just want to erase and redo everything.
Glenn: As for sports in public schools across the state, some changes were announced last week, in addition to the masks being required due to the pandemic, right?
Wertz: Yes, they will do as you said, they will make mandatory masks for basketball players, as private schools are doing now. And I haven’t heard any negative reports about it. They also announced, starting in the 2021 school year, that they will make a big change. They will move from eight state football championships to four. They will increase the playoffs from five to six weeks. And they will cut the regular seasons from 11 to 10. Many schools are unhappy about this because football is the main revenue generator. They are going to take an entire week out of a season that follows a season of COVID-19, when they barely generated any revenue.
Glenn: And also bouncing balls? Tell us about it?
Wertz: There is no high ball this year in basketball. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I know it’s been the Twitter conversation that will start with the ball off limits. They want to limit hand-to-hand contact as much as possible. And I don’t know if taking a move when you’re going to have 90 melee contact moves will really make a big difference. But that is the rule they have created.
Glenn: Let’s talk about something a little more optimistic. Mikey Williams, basketball player at Lake Norman Christian High School.
Wertz: Williams looks like a college basketball player now. He has a college game, he does things you don’t see high school students doing. I probably haven’t seen anything like this since Zion Williamson. There are always many cameras and many people following. This kid has almost 3 million followers on social media, but he also has the game to back up, which is cool. He’s physically talented, he can jump out of the gym. And, you know, what I like most, Gwen, is that he is sensible. When things don’t go well for him or his team, he doesn’t lose. You know, he doesn’t have an attack. He kind of takes it all in stride. He just plays his game. I really like that about him. He looks like a balanced child, the kind of child you like to play with.
Langston Wertz Jr. is a veteran sports journalist for Charlotte Observer
Want to read all the best news from WFAE every day? Sign up for The Frequency, WFAE’s daily email newsletter, so that our top stories are delivered directly to your inbox.