UConn resumes practices ahead of Saturday’s opener
They’re back.
The UConn women’s basketball team resumed full practice last Thursday — five days earlier than anticipated — following multiple negative tests among players, the school said Monday.
The Huskies had halted team activities after a Tier 1 member of the program — not a player or a coach — tested positive for the coronavirus on Nov. 23.
Let’s take a closer look at what this means for the Huskies.
HOW HAVE PLAYERS BEEN STAYING BUSY SINCE THE SHUTDOWN BEGAN?
Though they haven’t been able to hold a fullteam workout, players have been on campus, practicing in groups of three or four, since Nov. 28. They’ve continued to get tested three times a week, per NCAA guidelines, as well.
The program reported an additional positive COVID-19 case that same day, though, following contact tracing, the timeline for the quarantine remained unaffected. That individual was not identified.
WHEN DO THE GAMES START?
First, a disclaimer: Schedules might as well be written in pencil, eraser in hand, as we move along. The only certainty, as the saying goes, is uncertainty. Welcome to 2020.
The Huskies were supposed to get their season underway against Quinnipiac on Nov. 28, but that game was canceled, as were two other nonconference matchups. A fourth was postponed.
Instead, they’ll open — again, fingers crossed — Saturday (1 p.m.) at Gampel
Pavilion with UMass Lowell. That game was announced just last week, illustrating the piece-bypiece nature of scheduling in this fragile season.
The River Hawks — who, conveniently, are coached by Shea Ralph’s husband, Tom Garrick — have played just one game so far, losing 88-38 to Boston College. This will be their first meeting with UConn.
After that, presumably, will come the start of Big East play, with Butler visiting on Dec. 15. The Huskies have three other games on the docket before Christmas — home vs. Xavier and at Seton Hall and Villanova.
HOW WILL THE LAYOFF AFFECT THEIR PERFORMANCE?
Well, let’s start with this: It’s been more than 270 days since UConn’s last game. Oh, and most of the current Huskies, well, they didn’t even play that night. Heck, a majority weren’t even in the building.
Of the 11 players on this year’s roster, seven are newcomers, including six freshmen and junior guard Evina Westbrook, who sat out last season after transferring from Tennessee. On paper, it’s Geno Auriemma’s youngest team in more than three decades. Chemistry could be an issue, but the bigger concern, perhaps, is conditioning coming off a lengthy layoff. Auriemma said as much last month: “I don’t know how you get in game shape unless you’re playing. … I think every coach does worry that when that season-opener does come, are we going to be ready? Will we be prepared physically?”
IS ANYONE ELSE IN THE BIG EAST SHUT DOWN?
Xavier has postponed three straight games due to COVID-19 protocols within its program. The school has yet to provide a timeline for resuming play — for what it’s worth, Sunday’s game against Wofford is still on — but obviously an extended shutdown would put the Dec. 19 game in jeopardy.
Georgetown is also on pause, while Seton Hall has resumed activities and is preparing to open its season Tuesday against Saint Peter’s.
Seven of the 11 schools in the Big East have played at least two games, led by Providence’s six.