Cox longs for time with Baylor
Cancellations meant no goodbye
NEW YORK — Lauren Cox is still trying to process that her college basketball career is over.
The Baylor forward, like many other seniors, saw her season end when the NCAA tournament was canceled. She was on a plane with her teammates ready to head to the Big 12 Conference tournament last week when word came that the league had canned its postseason.
“It’s been tough. Some days are more emotional than others. I’m still trying to process it,” Cox said in a phone interview. “There’s nothing to do. I’m bored out of my mind. It’s hard because I never had so much free time. The free time is forcing me to think about it and overthink it.”
Cox took to Instagram a few days ago to share her emotions. The hardest part is that she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her teammates and coach Kim Mulkey as a group.
“That’s been hard on all of us,” Mulkey said. “We all thought we were just going home for a weekend after the Big 12 tournament was canceled. We never got a chance to get back together as a group. For me to give my seniors like Lauren a hug and thank them for all they did.”
Cox earned first-team AllAmerica honors Thursday after helping Baylor win the Big 12 regular-season title and go 28-2 on the season.
Cox understands the NCAA’s decision to cancel March Madness. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 7. Because it’s an autoimmune disease, it makes her more vulnerable to coronavirus.
“If I were to catch it, it would have a greater effect on me,” she said. “I’m staying away from crowds. Washing hands like normal. Doing what I can to stay healthy.”
Cox is focused on her future in basketball and that’s playing in the WNBA. She’s projected to be a lottery pick. It’s still unclear how the shutdown will affect the WNBA, its season and draft, which is supposed to take place April 17.
“There’s so many unknowns and that’s the frustrating part. I know this isn’t important with what’s going on in the world, but you have to find what you are going to wear to the draft,” she said. “Do stuff like that and you don’t know if it’s going to happen.”