‘We’re going to have pauses’: Bill Self’s reaction to KU basketball game cancellation
Had this been a typical game day, Bill Self would have been hanging out in the visitor’s locker room at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, putting any finishing touches on his game plan for the 7 p.m. local time Kansas-Colorado nonconference men’s basketball game at CU Events Center.
Instead, Kansas’ 19th-year head coach was in the lobby of the St. Julien Hotel in downtown Boulder, speaking with reporters about the cancellation of the game between the 9-1 Jayhawks and 9-3 Buffs because of COVID-19 concerns in CU’s program.
The game will not be rescheduled.
“Everybody is disappointed because they wanted to play,” Self said of his players and CU coach Tad Boyle’s players. “I’ll be honest with you. By the time they get home with their families tomorrow night (on four-day Christmas break), they will be more happy to be home with their families (than thinking about the game). It’s disappointing,” Self added, “but not a game which we had to play even though we’ll probably figure out some way to make it up. I don’t know how we’ll do that right now.”
Self said conceivably the Jayhawks could schedule a home game with a team during a week of conference play in which they play on Big Monday and don’t have another game until Saturday.
“We were prepared to play today. As poorly as we played Saturday (in 80-72 home win over Stephen F. Austin) and as telling as the film was for all the guys, you could tell they were anxious to go play,” Self said of the game versus the Buffs. “This is not an important game in the big scheme of things. I actually agree totally with the decision that was made. It was their doctors, our doctors, everybody.”
It was explained by Self that what happened is one of Colorado’s players had COVID-like symptoms on Tuesday morning and tested positive. The KU players, who arrived in Boulder on Monday afternoon, and CU players wanted the Buffs to be tested considering players from both teams are headed home for a short Christmas vacation starting Wednesday. KU’s players didn’t have to be tested for COVID on Tuesday because nobody on the team had symptoms.
Colorado had a pair of additional players test positive during the day Tuesday. The game was called off about 5 p.m. A Star reporter was not allowed to enter the building at that time, security guards reporting that the game was off because of positive tests of players, not specifying which team’s players.
“We found out this morning they had a positive, then we discussed what the fair strategy would be,” Self said. “They all wanted to test and all our players wanted to test. The fairest strategy was to to get all their players tested in a time frame that would give us time to either play the game or not play the game. They did. Unfortunately they came back with results they were hoping they weren’t going to get.
“We all agreed, just to be safe, since the players are all going home they (Buffs) should all be tested so the parents know what they are dealing with when they get home.”
Self said he spoke with Boyle, a former KU guard, throughout the day.
As far as the Jayhawks, they will not be tested in the future unless they have symptoms. They are to return from their hometowns to Lawrence on Sunday night to begin preparing for a game against Harvard on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
“We don’t have symptoms. They have symptoms on their team,” Self said. “If we have anybody that has symptoms within our program just like everybody else they immediately get tested. We’ve had guys tested many times throughout the fall and early winter, but it could be for flu. It could be for strep. It could be for fever, for whatever. We haven’t had any COVID cases yet knock on wood.”
Yet Self expects cases are coming.
“The variant is going to spread like wildfire. We’re all gonna get it,” Self said. “The good news is if you are vaccinated and boosted, the symptoms of getting it are very mild compared to those who aren’t. At least our team is vaccinated and for the most part boosted.
“I don’t know what to do,” he added as far as possible NCAA regulations regarding COVID-19. “One positive shouldn’t shut you down. But in this situation, multiple positives and there’s symptoms … more importantly you are going home (for vacation) … there are some individuals who may be be a little bit compromised from an immune system standpoint. This was not that important to to play this game.
“I feel more comfortable this year. We’re going to have pauses,” Self added, noting the Big 12 figures to change its policy implemented in football and basketball regarding teams forfeiting if they have COVID issues that force cancellation of games. “Let’s just face it. The (college football) championship could get paused. We’ll have pauses. But I’m hopeful that it doesn’t take away our daily life patterns.”
KU’s Mitch Lightfoot was the only player to leave for Christmas break early on Tuesday. He left the team hotel at 5:45 p.m. to drive to Arizona with his parents. Self said the Jayhawks’ holiday clinic for youths for Dec. 27 had been canceled out of concern of the omicron variant spreading.
“I feel you still have guidelines,” Self said. “You don’t have to eat at a restaurant, but if you choose to go in there, all the employees are wearing masks. You don’t have to go into Allen Fieldhouse. If you do, people employed there will be in masks. I don’t know how you can do much more than that. I just don’t see how you can shut everything down again.”
CU athletic director Rick George released a statement, saying, “Our top priority since the start of the pandemic has been the health and safety of our student-athletes, staff and the community. While we’re disappointed for our student-athletes and fans to have to cancel the game, both schools agreed this is the best decision.”
Of canceling the KU holiday clinic for youths, Self said: “We had to cancel the holiday clinic for this exact reason. We had 500 sign up and if you put athletes around 500 kids there’s probably a chance somebody in the group’s got COVID. And then one of our guys gets it and you could have to potentially miss guys or miss games.
“We’re going to try to be as precautionary as we can and probably put in some protocols that look similar to last year, but I hope it doesn’t feel similar to last year.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 8:44 PM with the headline "‘We’re going to have pauses’: Bill Self’s reaction to KU basketball game cancellation."
