Girls basketball is in full swing in Ohio while the boys got underway a few days ago. Meanwhile, across the border gyms sit empty and Governor Jim Justice cast further doubt on any type of season Monday when he said, “basketball looks in real jeopardy to me,” during a press conference.
Best case scenario is the season starts January 11. Worst case? Let’s know go there for now.
Given that, Buckeye-state basketball teams can at least be thankful. They are playing. They are doing it in front of severely reduced capacity. But they are playing.
But the experiences from the preseason and first few games have been far from ordinary for each team.
Some schools had nary a disruption, running preseason workouts and practices and getting in a few scrimmages before the season started.
Others missed a decent amount of time, unable to practice per district restrictions. Others still, like Shenandoah, missed an entire two weeks after one of its players came down with COVID-19 and the rest of the team had to quarantine.
Big picture? The good news is the player in question is healthy and doing well and none of her teammates became infected.
Full-Team Quarantine
The Zeps returned only three letter winners for this season, one of which is out till mid-January recovering from a fractured foot. That means three underclassmen (a sophomore and two freshmen) joined the starting lineup and the first two players off the bench are also rookies.
Players need time to gel and newbies need reps to grasp the concepts of the team’s offensive and defensive strategies.
The preseason started well. The girls were learning, and coach Sami Schott liked what she saw from the first scrimmage. And then … quarantine.
“We were in shape and ready to play I thought, and I was comfortable were we were in terms of being in basketball shape,” Schott said. “Then those two weeks hit, and you can’t get a team back into shape, not in four days.
“We did some team workouts online, but there’s no substitute for being in the gym running and shooting.”
It showed in the Zeps’ season opener Saturday. They took an early lead against visiting Eastern but faltered down the stretch 64-58. It’s a game Shenandoah could have easily won. But as the minutes wore on, transition buckets and rebounds became easier for the Eagles’ players to obtain.
Meadowbrook freshman Kenli Norman works to get past Barnesville’s Blayne Carpenter.
Need Those Court Legs
Barnesville is experiencing a similar situation.
The Shamrocks started the season 2-0 and are coming off their first loss of the season, falling to Meadowbrook on Monday night.
But even in their two wins, Barnesville struggled to stay out of foul trouble. Monday, a team that shot well early from inside started coming up short from 10-feet in. And it wasn’t just one player but a team-wide issue.
As the game progressed into its late stages, the energy well seemed to run dry for the home team.
“We missed a lot and I think a lot of it has to do with legs,” Barnesville coach Jason Perkins said. “I know I keep saying it and you can’t blame everything on it, but we really haven’t practiced. We’ve had maybe 4-5 practices mixed with three games and it’s one of those things where I don’t think we’re fully in shape yet.”
No Atmosphere
The crowd plays a big factor in basketball, more so than most sports. A football stadium can get downright deafening. But there’s little substitute for hitting a big shot at a basketball game and hearing the home stands erupt right on top of you.
There’s a reason teams take hours selecting the perfect warm-up music for the pre-game—atmosphere is also important.
Ohio schools for the most part are operating now on family-only capacity at Governor Mike DeWine’s behest. This is down from the set percentage used for fall sports. But it’s also short of DeWine’s recent suggestion that schools play with no fans at all.
For now, that’s a suggestion and not an edict.
But make no mistake, it is noticeable.
“It’s definitely a different atmosphere in here with only 40-50 people,” Perkins said. “It’s got to be hard to get into the game. You don’t have the usual noise you’d have. We have zero student section.”
For now, every game feels like you’re the road team playing for a school with a non-traveling fan base. There’s a smattering of parents in the stands but otherwise, empty seats all around.
Again, big picture, they are still playing basketball. But the start of the season has been anything but normal for many teams.
