After members of the Winthrop University men’s basketball team and coaching staff tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 11, the Eagles’ season opener against Seton Hall University was canceled.
Winthrop Athletics announced the positive tests on Nov. 12 — a day after Seton Hall announced its men’s basketball program had also paused team activities due to positive COVID-19 tests.
All members of the team were placed under quarantine and the season opener, which was scheduled for Nov. 25, was eliminated as a precautionary measure against spreading the virus.
“Basketball is classified as a high risk sport, which means that if there is a single positive case, the entire team and all personnel must be quarantined for two weeks,” said Winthrop Athletic Director Ken Halpin.
Although the season opener was canceled, the men’s basketball team remains unfazed by this setback and is still optimistic regarding the rest of the season.
“They’re great; they’re ready to play,” Halpin said. “They have followed every school policy, they have followed every NCAA regulation, and they have had a great attitude about it.”
Along with its game against Seton Hall, Winthrop was scheduled to play Southern Illinois University on Nov. 29.The Salukis withdrew from the multi-team event in Louisville, Kentucky due to COVID-19, leaving Winthrop with two fewer games than the team was expected to play at the KFC Yum! Center.
“We’re trying to do everything we can for our student athletes and our staff, and we’ll still be able to get three games out of it which we’re very happy about. We have a very talented team on the men’s side this year and they are excited to play,” Halpin said.
According to Halpin, the team began practicing again on Tuesday, Nov. 24 and traveled to Louisville on Friday, Nov. 27 after conducting more COVID-19 testing.
Though the men’s team was required to be isolated because of multiple confirmed positive cases, the women’s team was able to prepare for their season opener without many problems due to COVID-19.
“We had a close contact on the women’s team, but no positive cases, so they get to tip off this Wednesday, and I just want to commend our student athletes for showing the responsibility to socially distance and wearing a mask and not doing anything to spread the virus,” Halpin told The Johnsonian prior to the women’s game against Wofford on Nov. 25.
In addition to giving credit to the student athletes and support staff, Halpin is also extremely grateful for the help that Winthrop has received for testing through various partnerships.
“We’re so lucky that we have [the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control] partnering with us, and so all of our student athletes have been going through DHEC whenever they need to be tested, and we’ve also been relying on an organization in town called Affinity that has been helping us with tests as well. I also need to give our staff a ton of credit, because we’ve been able to come this far without spending any additional money on testing,” Halpin said.
The men’s basketball team was most recently set to begin its season on Nov. 29 against UNC Greensboro, but the game was postponed just hours before tipoff. A statement issued by Winthrop Athletics read:
“Out of an abundance of caution due to issues related to COVID-19, both the UNC Greensboro and Winthrop men’s basketball programs have postponed tonight’s contest and agreed to reschedule to a future date during the 2020-21 season. Both schools are following the NCAA’s Core Principles of Resocialization for College Basketball to ensure the safety of all staff and student-athletes.”
The Eagles are still scheduled to take on The University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Dec. 2 and Duquesne University on Dec. 4 before returning to Rock Hill. Make sure to stay up to date on all Winthrop athletics by following @WUEagles on twitter.
Photo courtesy of Winthrop Athletics
