How UGA basketball is preparing for season likely to have impacts from COVID pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sports world, the college basketball season was in the thick of the schedule.

Now, with the pandemic still raging in the United States, questions abound about what the 2020-21 basketball season might look like. Georgia basketball head coach Tom Crean spoke to that via a Zoom video call Wednesday, saying there’s been “nothing normal, obviously, about this summer.”

Ordinarily at this time, the Bulldogs would be six or seven weeks deep into summer workouts after a full five weeks of spring practice. But due to the pandemic, Crean hasn’t seen his team in person since March 12.

Starting Monday, coaches will be able to work with players on the court again. Each player faces a multiple week “ramp up” process before they will be fully participating in basketball activities.

“We’ll be able to start as coaches and some will be in one-on-one type of situations next week, some will be in bigger groups, and then we just base it along the way,” Crean said. “But the bottom line is, anything that we do has got to be, what does this individual need this day to get better?”

All but three players had reported to Athens by midweek. Sophomores Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler have yet to arrive, but have had access to training facilities at home. In addition, graduate transfer P.J. Horne is still finishing his degree at Virginia Tech.

Crean said he hasn’t been checking in on specifics such as bench press amounts, but he has heard about which players have been emerging as leaders. Wheeler has been one such player, as has junior Tye Fagan.

But just like their football counterparts, Crean and his coaches are still unsure exactly what this season will look like. They haven’t had to make any schedule adjustments yet, although a contingency plan is being prepared.

For now, like the rest of the world, the Bulldogs are in wait-and-see mode. All that can be done is to listen and heed the advice of experts in the hopes of having as close to a normal season as possible.

“I think (SEC commissioner) Greg Sankey’s done a great job of making it clear, and I think our school’s done this too: ‘OK, don’t be in a rush, listen to the right people, the information’s changing rapidly, let’s go with that,’” Crean said. “To me, that’s how I’ve tried to look at it because if you spend too much time trying to decipher and think about who’s saying what, it’s too much.”

Young Bulldogs will need to grow up fast

Crean also noted the effect lack of spring and summer workouts can have on such a young team. The Bulldogs had nine freshmen on last season’s team and will have eight newcomers on this season’s team — two freshmen and six transfers from either junior or Division I colleges.

However, class status isn’t necessarily a reason for pessimism.

“It’s not about your years of experience somewhere right now,” Crean said. “It’s about your maturity, it’s about your organization ability, it’s about your ability to be a teammate and it’s that confidence level in your game and having the confidence in your game that transfers to the other guys in the program to help their game.”

With so many practices missed, every workout now has a heightened sense of urgency to it. Crean has made it clear to his players that, at least for this season, there’s no easing in.

“We don’t have time for you to understand how important this is, for how mature you have to be, for how organized you have to be and neither do you,” Crean said.

Crean expects players to hold each other accountable

Most of the team has already reported to Athens, with Crean expecting Horn, Camara and Wheeler to arrive by Monday. When that happens, the head coach expects his players to police each other when it comes to protective measures against coronavirus.

“I think the most important thing that we can do constantly is talk, make sure that we’re monitoring each other with our masks, not getting offended if we say something,” Crean said.

As far as university protocols go, Crean praised director of sports medicine Ron Courson and the rest of the Georgia administration for putting quality protocols in place to keep student-athletes safe.

These guidelines will be necessary if the virus is to be contained and a somewhat normal season is to take place. But the higher-ups can only do so much. Ultimately, the burden falls on the Bulldogs.

“They need to make sure they’re reminding each other,” Crean said. “Those kinds of things are leadership-driven too. Once we get back to campus, you’ve got to have some personal practices that you’re carrying with you to help you.”