College hoops ‘up in air,’ Nova’s Wright says; KU’s games in ESPN events still on tap
Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright did not express optimism Tuesday when asked about the status of the 2020-21 college basketball season.
“I can’t see, right now, having fans (attend games),” Wright said on a conference call with reporters. His comments were documented in an article at Forbes.com.
“College basketball is up in the air,” added Wright, who stressed, “My hope is it’s normal. My hope is we start on time and we play. We have to be prepared for just (the) league schedule starting Jan. 1. I think we’ve got to be prepared for anything.”
In the aftermath of the 2020 NCAA Tournament being canceled, Kansas fans have to be wondering if they should purchase game tickets, plane tickets and hotel rooms for say, the Champions Classic on Nov. 10 in Chicago and/or the Nov. 26-27 Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, California. KU is slated to play Kentucky in the one-day Champions Classic and two of three teams (UCLA, Georgetown, Virginia) in the Thanksgiving week Wooden tourney.
Those are two of ESPN’s 10 in-season events held during the college hoops season. Those events are still on … for now.
“Regarding the college basketball events, we continue to closely monitor COVID-19 developments. The health and safety of the public, including student-athletes, staff and spectators, is our top priority,” Anna Negron, ESPN’s senior publicist for college sports told The Star in a text message Monday.
As Kansas coach Bill Self said recently — and Wright reiterated Tuesday — nobody knows what the future of spectator sports will be during the pandemic, which is ongoing. Most states in the country are reopening in stages.
“It changes every day. It’s one of the most fluid things I’ve ever been around. Knowing that what you think it is one day can be totally different the next day, two days or three hours later,” Self said.
St. John’s AD sees fans in future
St. John’s athletic director Mike Cragg said, “we’re optimistic” on Tuesday when asked by the New York Post his opinion on the upcoming college hoops season being played as scheduled.
“We expect to have fans. And we’ll adjust depending on how many can be in attendance. But there’s no way of knowing at this point,” he told the Post.
New York is one of the states that’s been hit the hardest by coronavirus.
“I expect we’re going to have college basketball,” Cragg told the Post. “I am encouraged every day we’re getting to a better place.”
KU recruit Fall ranked No. 6 in Class of 2023
Baye Fall, a 6-foot-10, 200-pound sophomore-to-be center from Lutheran High in Parker, Colorado, who last week revealed he’d been offered a scholarship by Kansas, on Tuesday was awareded a No. 6 ranking in the recruiting class of 2023 by ESPN.com.
Fall — he moved from Senegal to the United States in February of 2019 — told Zagsblog.com Tuesday he’s also received offers from Georgia, Georgetown and Minnesota and has also heard from Arizona State, Maryland, Colorado, Memphis, LSU, TCU, Arkansas, Baylor, Texas, Ohio State, New Mexico, Washington State and Iowa.
“The only school I’ve been to before they offered was KU. It wasn’t really a basketball visit. I just went there last year with my parents because I was in Kansas City for AAU (tournament),” Fall told Zagsblog.com. “It was good for me. It was a nice campus. I like their program. I like the conference they’re in and it’s a big school.”
Fall averaged 19.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game as a freshman at Lutheran High last season.
ESPN.com has ranked 25 players in the Class of 2023. Rivals.com has yet to release its rankings of sophomores.
“I would describe my game as a big man with a high motor,” Fall told Zagsblog.com. “I can run and there are a lot of people that say that I can potentially play three positions. I can shoot. I would think I’m kind of athletic. I would consider my game a combination of Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Joel Embiid.”
Clark helps cleanup effort in Nashville
Skyy Clark, a 6-2 junior-to-be point guard from Brentwood Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, joined a group of 50 individuals in cleaning the streets of Nashville on June 1 following rioting and looting that occurred the night before.
Clark, who played high school basketball at Heritage Christian in California last season before moving to Tennessee recently, has KU, Kentucky, UCLA, Duke and many others on his list of schools. He is the No. 17-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2022 according to Rivals.com.
“I want to see change,” Clark told the Los Angeles Daily News. “I’m about peace, love and unity.”
Clark organized the cleanup on his Instagram account, posting a time and place for concerned citizens to gather.
“I know people look up to me,” Clark said. “I want people to do good, no matter what their platform or status is. I do think if people see me do good, they’ll do good.”
He averaged 24.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game in leading Heritage Christian to a 26-5 record and a berth in the quarterfinals of the Division 2AA playoffs last season.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 9:53 AM with the headline "College hoops ‘up in air,’ Nova’s Wright says; KU’s games in ESPN events still on tap."
