The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
A day of emotion, shock, sadness for state coaches
John Gallagher got the call five minutes after noon on Thursday. The American East championship at Vermont, Hartford’s wonderful shot at its first NCAA bid, had been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak. Gallagher walked outside to his car and there the Hawks’ basketball coach tried hard to gather his thoughts.
“We were 40 minutes away from the dream,”
Gallagher said softly. “Forty minutes.”
In Fairfield, Sacred Heart hockey coach C.J. Marottolo listened in on the 12:30 p.m. Atlantic Hockey conference call with the league athletic directors and commissioner Bob DeGregorio. The vote was unanimous to call off the postseason tournament, one that may well have propelled the Pioneers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
“As hard as a decision as it is, it is the right decision in the big scope of things,” Marottolo said. “Still, it’s devastating.”
In Fort Worth, Texas, Dan Hurley got onto a conference call with reporters at 1:05 p.m. After what happened with Rudy Gobert and the NBA suspending operation on Wednesday night, the UConn basketball coach said he had gone to bed convinced the AAC Tournament would be canceled.
“I had the worst night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time,” Hurley said.
The Huskies had gone through their morning walk-through in the hotel ballroom, watched video and started their pre-game meal when word arrived from the AAC office. The 3 p.m. game with Tulane was off, the tournament was off, the dream of a 2011-like miracle run from a resurgent team to the NCAA Tournament … gone.
“The players were obviously disappointed, but I think mostly just shocked by it,” Hurley said. “I couldn’t even say sadness, because I don’t even think it’s hit home yet. I think everyone is shocked, stunned and a little bit frightened.”
In New Haven, basketball coach James Jones was in fascinating position. The Ivy League already had canceled its postseason tournament at Harvard. So the Bulldogs, as regularseason champs, were — at least on paper — headed back to the NCAA. Yale hockey had pulled out of the ECAC tournament, ending its season. What would happen? The answer came later in the afternoon.
After much speculation, the NCAA canceled all its winter tournaments.
March Madness is gone, replaced with silent fears, and quiet prayers, and the hope we will all get through this together.
“Our country is in a situation where there are a lot of unknowns,” Jones said. “Sports are kind of taking the stand of trying to stop this before it gets out of control. Obviously, you’ve got to appreciate and understand that. At the same time, I’m disappointed for the kids. But as a logical person, it’s understandable. Health and safety are very important. I have personal viewpoints on the coronavirus, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s not that I agree or disagree with it, I’m fine with it. It’s logical. It makes good sense.”
Little else seems to these days.
“Listen, the last four-five days, especially the last 24 hours if somebody coughed, you had people freaking out,” Hurley said. “At a meal last night someone sneezed and half the room was looking at each other. This is a scary situation.”
Gallagher, meanwhile, got back out of his car for a 12:30 film session scheduled with the team. Unaware, the manager was setting up film for Vermont.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to stop that,’ ” Gallagher said and then he turned to speak to his players.
UHart is one of only 42 schools around the nation never to get into the D-I NCAA Tournament. With a late run, winning four of their last five, including tournament wins over UMass Lowell and at Stony Brook, the No. 3 seed Hawks were brimming with confidence. They had lost to Vermont by only one point in their last meeting.
“There was a lot of tears, a lot of raw emotion,” Gallagher said. “I’m proud of how they handled it. We went around the room and everybody addressed the team and the year. That’s what we do after our last loss. Yeah, there were a lot of tears.
“These are unprecedented times. As a coach, you’re always looking out for the best interest of your players and program. We have to pray for the wisdom of our leaders. We trust them that it is in the best interest our players and program. It seems like it is, but that doesn’t take away the hurt. It does takes precedent over any game, over any championship. The bottom line is this team is a championship team. We don’t need the materialist thing of a ring or a jacket. This group is champions.”
It was just before 1 p.m. in Fairfield that Marottolo texted his players of a team meeting at 2.
“The way Twitter is today,” he said, “I’m sure they all knew what the meeting was about.”
The long-time hockey coach’s voice broke for a moment.
“It was very emotional, devastating news to bring to your guys,” Marottolo said. “This team had clarity of what they wanted to accomplish. To not have the chance to chase it down, the emotion really came out in the room. You want to get to the NCAAs. It was there in front of us. Right there smack in the middle of our radar. We felt we had a really good team to get there and if we got there we could compete with anyone as we did all year.”
Marottolo, whose family came from Naples, has seen what happened in Italy. There were three cases of coronavirus in Italy three weeks ago. On Thursday, there were 15,113 with 1,016 deaths. Only China has suffered worse.
“The emotions are raw for us,” Marottolo said. “It also is nobody’s fault that this happened. I tried to take to the stance with the guys that as hard as it is right now, what’s going on in the world is a lot bigger than hockey. It might take some time for them to see that.”
Marottolo said he focused on the seniors and how much this 21-10-3 team, one that dramatically captured the first Connecticut Ice Tournament over three more celebrated schools, had brought to Sacred Heart.
“They raised the standard of what we want to be as a program,” Marottolo said. “That will be their legacy. Winning the Connecticut Ice in its first year, looking back on it now was really special. You got to see the euphoria of the guys, how hard they competed for each other, what they did for the school. That’s something that can never be taken from them.”
Jones was equally proud of his 23-7 Bulldogs.
“We had one game all season where we didn’t put (our)selves in position to win and that game didn’t have meaning for the season,” Jones said. “I felt great about their work ethic, their dedication to each other. Last year was nothing short of amazing and this year only trumped that. It’s a shame, but it is what it is. You’d hate to look back and have tens of thousands of people get sick because of it if you have the tournament.
“Quite honestly, we were fortunate to have a conclusion of our season. There are people who trained all winter long that can’t play this spring. Who works harder than crew? They’re working out at 6 a.m. Baseball players, lacrosse players – our lacrosse team is the best in the country and they’re not able to go to another national championship.”
Hurley’s son Drew, who plays for No. 1 East Catholic has lost a chance for a state championship. And while dad has lost his chance to take a hot team into the postseason, one that could have captured the imagination of the state, it was the well-being of his family, his team, those close to him most on his mind.
“Our guys showed as much character and resiliency and toughness, and especially later in the season a winning mindset as much as any team I’ve ever coached,” Hurley said. “Not being allowed to finish your season on the court, to walk off the court with the people you’ve gone to battle with for a long time one last time. That’s a very emotional experience. Not having that last locker room together after victory or defeat. That’s the only basketball thing that has really crossed my mind today.”
Gallagher, 40 minutes away from a dream, felt the same.
“Closure comes after a loss and if you’re lucky a win,” Gallagher said. “It doesn’t come after panic and right now our country is in panic. It looks like it’s righteous in that, the safety and well-being of every U.S. citizen is on the line. What I’m trying to grasp is how I’ve been competing for 35 years, since I’ve been six or seven. You go home after a loss. You go home after a win. You don’t stop after a pandemic. It’s hard to understand. You must understand.”
jeff.jacobs @hearstmediact.com; @jeffjacobs123