It was great — until the virus struck
Ex-Allen star Jalen Cannon was having a strong pro season in Italy
Jalen Cannon was having a great season. Playing for NPC Rieti in the Italian Pro Basketball League, the former Allen High standout and Morning Call player of the year was averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and his team was gearing up for a strong finish to the regular season and a playoff run.
But on Feb. 26 everything came to a halt. Weeks before the coronavirus outbreak shut down the NBA, the NHL, Major League Baseball and all college sports in this country, Italy stopped playing basketball.
“We were actually ready to go to a game in Casale Monferrato, but we learned they had a bunch of cases of coronavirus and the game was canceled,” Cannon said.
As it was, Cannon stayed in Italy for weeks after pro basketball was stopped and experienced a country that became the European epicenter of the pandemic before it crossed the Atlantic Ocean to bring everyday life in America to a standstill.
“It wasn’t as bad where I was, we had maybe 10 cases or so,” he said. “Most of it while I was there was in northern Italy, about six hours away.”
The pro league didn’t cancel everything immediately. They took a wait-and-see approach that lasted for several weeks, keeping Cannon in limbo.
“They weren’t telling us much,” he said. “We were just playing it by ear. At one point, the U.S. Embassy told us we’d better come home or else we could be stuck there for a long time.”
Cannon admitted he was scared because of what he was hearing throughout the country and from the basketball community. Italy was a natural spot for the coronavirus to strike, he said, because of how people live so closely together, how tight-knit families are and the tourist attractions draw visitors from around the world.
“There were a couple of teams located in the worst part of Italy in terms of the coronavirus,” he said. “There is a team in Bergamo, which was really hit hard. I have a couple of friends on that team. That had me scared, even though no one on our team tested positive. Some guys may have had family in the northern part of Italy, but they couldn’t see them because our city was on lockdown. No one could drive in, or leave.”
Along with the isolation came the fear and sadness.
“We have a lot of old supporters who came out to see us play and we lost many of those people,” Cannon said. “Italy is probably the oldest country in the world in terms of the age of people and it was a very sad situation. I was scared, so I did the research and I followed the protocol and stayed inside except to go to the grocery store.”
This was Cannon’s third season in Italy after single pro seasons in Mexico and Israel and he has come to embrace the country and its people. Even though he saw a lot of sadness, he also saw the passion of the people who would sing and play music on the balconies of their homes every night.
“I do like it there, but I am beyond happy to be home, even though my mom said it might be better for me to stay because it’ll be over in Italy before it’s over here,” he said.
Cannon returned with his girlfriend on March 23, but then went into self-quarantine for two weeks and has yet to see his family.
“That’s what I was told to do to be on the safe side coming from Italy,” he said. “This is a very serious matter. The more we stay inside and only go out for necessities, the quicker it will be over.”
Cannon will spend the rest of the spring and the summer in Allentown where he’ll continue his workouts and hopes to train with another former Allen star Tyrese Martin who made news with his transfer from Rhode Island to UConn.
“Tyrese is a tremendous worker who has come a long way and he’s headed for a great rest of his career at UConn,” Cannon said.
Preseason training in Italy typically begins in late-August and Cannon is not sure if he’s going back.
“There a lot of factors about where I am playing next and I have a lot to talk about with my agent,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I am going to get back to basketball eventually. I can’t wait to start working out again.”
Cannon, who will turn 27 on
May 5, also can’t wait to see his former high school coach, Doug Snyder, who announced his retirement after the 2019-20 Canaries season ended with a loss to Chester on March 7.
“Coach Snyder has put in so much work that he deserves a great retirement,” Cannon said. “He’s a role model and a father figure for all of Allentown. Even if he wasn’t your coach or your teacher, he is someone you should look up to. I tried to model my life after him.”
Snyder was there for Cannon when it was time to make a college selection. He went to St. Francis of Brooklyn where he had a record-breaking career.
“I was looking at going to a higher school, but Coach Snyder said St. Francis was going to be the right fit for me,” Cannon said. “I couldn’t have made a better choice. I can’t thank Coach Snyder enough.”