https://gwsports.com/news/2020/12/10/mens-basketball-game-vs-south-carolina-canceled.aspx

Gwmayhem wrote:

South Carolina State and SC Upstate each have scheduled games this Sunday and Tuesday.  Maybe one wants to replace the Gamecocks and make it three games in three days?

I can't see USC making the trip after reading the Frank Martin quote.  Sounds like he wants nothing to do with travel outside of SEC games.  And, nothing to do with OOC games at all for the rest of this season.

If Covid forecasts are correct and the next 6 weeks are expected to be brutal, why not pause college basketball for 6-8 weeks and then proceed with conference play if conditions do improve?  Nobody will object to March Madness becoming May Madness.  

The NCAA has been steadfast in saying that the NCAA must have a postseason tournament in 2021 to avoid dire financial consequences.  I fully comprehend their position yet at the same time, it's near-comical to insist that something must happen when the forces that may cause it not to happen are out of your control.  The virus doesn't care if the tournament is cancelled two consecutive years.  Or for that matter, if any colleges/universities either go under or abandon their sports programs (or drop to a lower division) as a result.

If cases are skyrocketing now, which they are, and this wave is expected to slow down say by February, then pause the season, play again in February, and finish in May-June.  And if it turns out that the wave does not slow down and the season can not be completed, then so be it.  

Most college football and basketball coaches, top athletic department administrators, Bowl game officials, and top NCAA officials are all grossly overpaid.  Interested in saving college sports from financial calamity?  I'd start there.  

All of this. I've never been an advocate of paying players but since when did they become "frontline workers"? Also, it's gross to see the journo class (Davis, Rothstein et al) egging it all on because their jobs depend on it. The season should be shut down till Feb., at the earliest, then run a round robin schedule in each conference and send winners to the Big Dance in April, May, June, whenever, with at-large bids going to committee as usual. A lot of these kids are not going to be able to spend their holidays with their families at all this year otherwise, which seems outrageous to me.

I'm on board with delaying the season. This is not worth it. There can still be a three month season starting in March.

With schools looking to find games maybe this would be a good time for GW and Georgetown to start again.

It's clear that college basketball is going to follow football's lead and just plow through the entire season(November to March/April) regardless of cancellations and COVID spikes. All the schools who have had to pause their season, hit the ground running when their season resumes, so their doesn't seem to be a lot of concerns, except from Coach K. College Basketball's company line seems to be, 'Schedule Games Against Whoever You Can, Whenever You Can'

MVCOLONIAL,  the Big East is starting conference play in 2 days, so Georgetown may not be an option, but Maryland could have some dates open. GW will need to look to local schools to fill the South Carolina void, and Maryland would be a good option now. Regardless of what the outcome would be if GW faced Maryland or Georgetown, GW really needs to test itself against stronger competition before they start conference play. A game against Georgetown, Maryland or possibly Virginia is needed, not another struggle against American U, Morgan State or Howard. 

And it's this way because Mark Emmert is a terrible leader who lacks the foresight to say that we'll get the tournament in even if it's played over the summer but for now, we need to shut down.  The sport needs the voice of a real leader, not an active coach like Coach K, but someone who could really be the driving force for the sport.  Jay Bilas gets mentioned as a possible commissioner of the sport so to speak and he'd actually be a perfect representative IMO. 

Gwmayhem wrote:

And it's this way because Mark Emmert is a terrible leader who lacks the foresight to say that we'll get the tournament in even if it's played over the summer but for now, we need to shut down.  The sport needs the voice of a real leader, not an active coach like Coach K, but someone who could really be the driving force for the sport.  Jay Bilas gets mentioned as a possible commissioner of the sport so to speak and he'd actually be a perfect representative IMO. 

But Mark Emmert doesn't do anything that the majority of schools don't want him to do. You don't think that was an idea that was floated and discussed? That's exactly the point, Mark Emmert is not a commissioner (as in a pro sports sense). College athletics is not constructed as a pro sports league. The power resides in the collective institutions and conferences.

Am not suggesting that this isn't the way it is, it's just a joke that it is this way.

At least professional sports commissioners are hired by the owners and are there to serve and protect the owners (despite suggestions of their serving the overall good of the sport).  The head of the NCAA should oversee the overall good of the sports they govern.  This means taking into account more than just the financial interests of their schools and themselves.  The health and wellbeing of the student-athletes have to be properly prioritized.

The real shame in all of this is that there is a simple solution.  Shut the sport down now, cancel the rest of the OOC season, resume play on or around Feb. 1 (where forecasts suggest that the virus will be more under control) or later if necessary, and finish the NCAA tournament likely in May or June.  And, any coach or AD who asks "but what if the virus does not improve to the point where we can be playing again?", the answer is that if this were the case, then it should be obvious to all that nobody should be playing for health and safety reasons.

Right now, given the increases in cases and deaths since Thanksgiving, playing an indoor sport is just a horrible idea.  This has the look of a blatant and insensitive money-grab.  Mark Emmert should be saying so.

Newfound respect for Refs, who have a thankless, difficult job as it is. 

Imagine running around a court getting yelled at by both Coaches all game, and now exposed potentially to the virus.  Hope those guys are getting hazard pay raises