The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Moseley leading BU into uncertain season
The college basketball season is less than 10 days away, which means most programs are ramping up their preparations to ensure they are ready — that is, of course, assuming they’re able to practice.
And then there’s Marisa Moseley’s Boston University Terriers.
Moseley, the former UConn assistant now starting her third season at BU, is giving her team nine days off beginning Friday because, well, she can afford to.
“I’ve really kind of encouraged my staff from the 20th to when we get back to really decompress,” Moseley said Monday during a phone interview. “Stay at home. Take some time away to do something besides being on the phone with recruits, watching practice film or whatever.”
The Patriot League is planning to play all its women’s and men’s games in conference this season, due to challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Games don’t begin until Jan. 2.
Moseley, as a result, had to cancel nonconference dates with a host of schools, including North Carolina, Boston College, and Quinnipiac.
“Hopefully we’ll get through this next week unscathed with our kids, then we’re going to send them home for about nine days until right after Thanksgiving, and then they’ll be back,” Moseley said. “And then we’ll really kind of hunker down and they won’t go home for Christmas.”
Moseley led her alma mater to an 18-12 finish last season, including a 12-6
mark in conference, good for second place. The year prior, her first after nine seasons on Geno Auriemma’s staff at UConn, Moseley was named the Patriot League’s top coach.
With four starters back, including senior point guard Katie Nelson, Moseley says she has the makings of a very good team, maybe even an NCAA Tournament team.
So much else though is uncertain. As cases, hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 rise across the country ahead of the Nov. 25 start date, the prospects of staging a full season grow dimmer by the day.
“The numbers are upticking everywhere. It’s obviously not that encouraging at all,” Moseley said. “This is mentally really draining for everyone, but (especially) for these kids. The uncertainty and fear, they’re prepping for, they don’t know what exactly. We have a schedule.”
A schedule that, mind you, is bizarre — even for 2020 standards. Instead of the league’s traditional round-robin format, teams will play an increased number of games against opponents in closer geographic proximity.
For Boston University, that means six games against Holy Cross, four each against Army and Colgate, and two versus Lafayette.
“Everybody’s trying to keep as much normalcy as possible,” Moseley said. “Assuming this all goes well, we’re going to be able to play basketball again, which we haven’t been able to do since March. Whoever it is, let’s go out and execute.”
NCAA TOURNAMENT CHANGES?
Due to the pandemic, several contingency plans for the 2021 NCAA women’s basketball tournament are being discussed, including reducing the number of first- and secondround games or playing at a single location, Lynn Holzman, the NCAA’s vice president for women’s basketball, said Monday. San Antonio is scheduled to host the Final Four April 2-4.
The NCAA has already announced that its entire men’s tournament will be held in one spot — likely Indianapolis and the surrounding metro areas — in March and April.
UCONN FINALIST
UConn is among five finalists for Class of 2022 prospect Ashlon Jackson. The four-star shooting guard from Hardin Jefferson High (Texas) also included Oregon, Stanford, Louisville and Duke on her list, as revealed on Twitter.
The 5-foot-10 Jackson is ranked No. 22 in her class, according to ESPN. She’s the second-ranked player at her position, and the top prospect from the state of Texas.
UConn already has one commitment in the class in Cathedral Catholic (Calif.) post Isuneh Brady, the No. 5 overall prospect. The Huskies also remain in the mix for No. 1 Lauren Betts, No. 3 Ayanna Patterson and No. 27 KK Bransford.