Injury and COVID-19 updates on Wichita State basketball team ahead of first AAC game
The American Athletic Conference announced changes to its COVID-19 policy for conference play on Monday, veering away from forfeits and opening the possibility of rescheduling games.
In order to play, a team must have a minimum of seven eligible scholarship players and at least one coach. If a team is unable to meet those requirements due to COVID-19 issues, the game will be canceled and declared a no-contest rather than a forfeit — with the caveat that both teams may reschedule the game, although there is no conference mandate to do so.
The decision came on the heels of preseason favorite Houston already announcing it will have to cancel Tuesday’s conference-opening game against Cincinnati. Programs like Tulane and Memphis have also already paused basketball activities due to COVID problems.
WSU is no stranger to covid-related cancellations after its run to its first AAC championship included seven conference games called off — none to the fault of the Shockers.
Ahead of WSU’s conference opener on Wednesday at East Carolina, WSU coach Isaac Brown said he was a fan of the AAC’s new policy.
“None of us can control this,” Brown said of potential outbreaks. “Sometimes it’s just bad luck you get hit with, and your key players are out. I don’t think you need to play a team when you’re not full strength. The way you can determine a champion is everybody having to play each other and I think it was a great decision by our conference.”
Following WSU’s 102-66 win over Prairie View A&M last Wednesday, Brown spoke about how important it was for his players to remain diligent wearing masks when they returned home for a short Christmas break and traveled through airports.
On Monday, Brown reported there were no COVID-19 issues on the team following Sunday’s first practice back.
“We didn’t have any problems,” Brown said. “Everybody is good right now.”
While every WSU player has been vaccinated, Brown said the program is starting to take extra precautions — much like it did last season — to avoid a potential COVID-19 shutdown this season.
“We always talk to them about anytime you’re out in public, wherever you’re at, in the dorm rooms, out eating, hanging out, make sure you wear your mask because you can still get (COVID),” Brown said. “We just tell them continue to watch over yourselves. Make sure they’re making good decisions. Wear your mask, no matter where you go. The only time they don’t wear it is in practice. We’re starting to wear them a lot more in the film room and in the locker room.”
Avoiding a positive COVID-19 test was even more important for a WSU team that is short on depth, as freshmen Jalen Ricks and Isaac Abidde and walk-on Steele Chapman have all opted to redshirt this season. With just 10 available players, WSU’s depth was cut even shorter last game when starting point guard Craig Porter (ankle) and starting power forward Joe Pleasant (hamstring) both missed due to injury.
Brown delivered an encouraging injury update on both players on Monday, stating that Porter and Pleasant were both considered “day to day” but that they were both limited practice participants on Sunday.
“Neither guy is 100%, so I hope those guys can play in the game,” Brown said. “They practiced (on Sunday), but they weren’t full speed.”
WSU has not played at East Carolina since the 2018-19 season when the Shockers came away with a 65-49 win. WSU did not play at ECU in the 2019-20 season, then COVID-19 issues in the ECU program prevented the Shockers from playing the Pirates either time last season.
This story was originally published December 27, 2021 at 2:45 PM.
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