And-Ones: Belgian League, Clark, Pitino, NCAA Brackets
Belgium’s EuroMillions League has canceled the rest of its season in an effort to curtail the rampant spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, according to Sportando’s Nicola Lupo.
The EuroMillions League has named the team with the best record (13-4), FILOU Oostende, as its national champion. This is an intriguing step, and one several other leagues (like the NCAA) have yet to implement.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Wes Clark, a guard for Italy’s Serie A League team Pallacanestro Cantù, has returned home to the U.S. from Italy following the suspension of the season, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. The 6’0″ Clark is an alum of Missouri and Buffalo.
- Newly-minted Iona College head coach Rick Pitino still intends to coach Greece’s national team for the June Olympic qualifier in British Columbia, Pitino told Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link). Prior to his NCAA return, Pitino had served as head coach of the Greek EuroLeague club Panathinaikos since 2018.
- The NCAA has decided not to release what would have been this year’s March Madness brackets, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reports (Twitter link). NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt emailed all coaches relaying this decision. “To be clear, this is my decision,” Gavitt said in his message. “The basketball committees support and concur.”
And-Ones: Mannion, Beilein, WNBA, Pitino
Arizona point guard Nico Mannion, one of the top college players in the country, has not made a decision on whether or not his first season as a Wildcat will be his last, despite reports to the contrary, per Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (Twitter link).
“He will make that decision after the season,” the 19-year-old’s father Pace Mannion told Vecenie on March 8. With the NCAA season officially canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that determination may be coming up sooner than the Mannion family was anticipating.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- After resigning as Cavaliers head coach last month, John Beilein was hired as an analyst for the Big Ten Network studio team ahead of the anticipated start of the Big Ten Conference Tournament and March Madness, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. With the NCAA season canceled, Beilein may not have much to analyze for a while. Though Beilein is the winningest coach in Michigan basketball history, he struggled in the NBA, coaching the Cavaliers to a 14-40 record during 2019/20.
- Rick Pitino will return to college coaching at Iona College, per Forbes’ Adam Zagoria.“My passion in basketball started in New York and will end there at Iona College,” Pitino said. Pitino has been coaching Greek EuroLeague club Panathinaikos since 2018. He last coached in the NCAA for the University of Louisville from 2001-2017.
- WNBA executive director Terri Jackson spoke with Mark Medina of USA Today about the coronavirus and president Donald Trump’s travel ban precluding foreign nationals from traveling to the US from most European countries. Several WNBA players spend their offseasons overseas to supplement their earnings with more lucrative paydays from the international leagues. “Understanding [President Trump’s European] travel ban and understanding what came out of the White House is tough to grapple with,” Jackson told Medina.
Rudy Gobert Donates $500K To Arena Workers, Coronavirus-Related Services
All-Star Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the first NBA player to be diagnosed with the novel coronavirus COVID-19, has donated $500K to various groups impacted by the virus, per a team press release first relayed by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link).
Those groups include the 800-plus part-time employees at the club’s Vivint Smart Home Arena, in addition to coronavirus-related health service relief in Utah, Oklahoma City (where Gobert was diagnosed with the ailment) and social health care services in France, Gobert’s homeland.
“I know there are countless ways that people have been impacted,” Gobert said in the statement released by the Jazz. “These donations are a small token that reflect my appreciation and support for all those impacted and are the first of many steps I will take to try and make a positive difference.”
Per the press release, $200K of the gift will be donated to the part-time employees. Gobert will supply 100,000 Euros to the French health care system. $100K apiece will be allocated to families impacted in Utah and Oklahoma City.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 3/8/20 – 3/14/20
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- Luke Adams broke down the seven NBA players on active 10-day contracts when the NBA suspended its season. The postponed season will pause all the players’ tenure with their current teams.
- Adams examined the 2019/20 disabled player exceptions due to expire last week.
- For our Free Agent Stock Watch, Dana Gauruder took a look at the Southwest Division. Marquese Chriss and Alex Len‘s recent play had both centers on the ascent.
- In this week’s poll, we wondered which team was the biggest threat to an all-L.A. Western Conference Finals. (link)
- In our Community Shootaround this week, we asked you to weigh in on who you felt were the best coaches available in the coming offseason. (link)
Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Canceled
The annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, one of the oldest pre-combine scouting showcases for the best college seniors, officially announced its cancellation because of the developing coronavirus pandemic, per P.I.T. Vice Chairman Mike Morris (Twitter link). The P.I.T. has been operating since 1953.
The P.I.T. was scheduled to run from April 15-18, 2020 at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium was the first to report the news (Twitter link).
College seniors to have benefited from the P.I.T. include Scottie Pippen (drafted with the No. 5 pick in 1987), Dennis Rodman (the No. 26 pick in 1986), Jimmy Butler (the No. 30 pick in 2011), John Stockton (the No. 16 pick in 1984), Tim Hardaway (the No. 14 pick in 1989), Ben Wallace (who went undrafted in 1996), Rick Barry (the No. 2 pick in 1965), Dave Cowens (the No. 4 pick in 1970) and Earl Monroe (the No. 2 pick in 1967).
Coronavirus Continues To Impact International Play
As the novel coronavirus COVID-19 hits the US, its impact also continues to be felt abroad. The coronavirus first gestated in China, and thus the CBA was the first big league hit with COVID-19. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst took a look at the experiences of select CBA players, including former Magic forward Andrew Nicholson, now with the Loong Lions.
“It’s been frustrating,” Nicholson said, “but no one could have expected this, no one can control it.”
Since our last check-in, several other international leagues have suspended play. Beyond just the EuroLeague, the three other big European basketball competitions (the EuroCup, FIBA Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup) have indefinitely postponed game operations, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Forward Trey Thompkins, a member of one of the top EuroLeague clubs, Real Madrid, recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Real Madrid quarantined its basketball and football teams. Thompkins tweeted about his diagnosis. “I’m feeling great and just waiting for the virus to pass at this point,” he said in part.
Givony also notes that the competitions or entire leagues in Italy, France, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, and Greece will be postponed. The Adriatic League — boasting teams from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia — has also paused operations indefinitely, per Givony.
The suspension of play approach is not universal, Givony indicates. Contests in Israel and Turkey will continue as scheduled, but Turkish games will be fan-free and Israeli games will be limited to just housing 100 people in their arenas.
Among the European teams Givony tallies, only the VTB League — which comprises squads from Poland, Estonia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus — will continue with normal attendance along with its normal schedule.
The Belgian EuroMillions Basketball League has suspended all games until April, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Carchia also notes that league competitions in the Netherlands, Romania and Slovakia have been suspended today (Twitter link).
Vince Carter Discusses Upcoming Retirement
43-year-old Hawks wing Vince Carter chatted about his upcoming retirement after a record-setting 22 NBA seasons, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Kirschner detailed the scene following Carter’s game on Wednesday night, in which Atlanta fell 136-131 to the Knicks in overtime.
The Hawks discovered that the season was going to be at least postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the fourth quarter, as big man John Collins attempted free throws. Carter checked in with just 20 seconds left in overtime and knocked down a three-pointer.
“This was fun. If it ended today, this day and the end of the season with these last 16 games will be talked about for a very long time,” Carter said. “That’s something I’ll always remember. At least I scored my last basket. It’s a weird but cool memory.”
While Carter figures to play down the stretch for the Hawks if and when the season resumes, there’s a chance that Wednesday’s game will be the last time he plays in front of fans. If the coronavirus situation worsens and the NBA is forced to cancel its season, it will be the last time Carter plays at all, which prompted his postgame comments.
“I work so hard to be in shape and play this game to compete against young guys half my age, so I wanted to go out and play the game,” Carter said. “When you say, ‘How old is he again? Oh, he looks like he can still play.’ That’s the feeling — that’s like a championship because each and every night you play against another young guy and they say, ‘Man, I don’t see how you’re doing it. You look like you could play a couple of years.’ That’s like winning a championship in my mind.
“Some people probably don’t see it that way. I think sitting on the end of the bench and not being able to be a part of it — that would get me more than anything. It’s been a great ride.”
For the season, the eight-time All-Star is averaging 5.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG. Carter’s career slash line is a more impressive 16.7 PPG/4.3 RPG/3.1 APG. The 6’6″ University of North Carolina alum has scored 25,728 career points, the 22nd-most in league history.
Last night, in light of the league’s indefinite suspension of game play for the 2019/20 season, Carter posted a tweet expressing gratitude to fans for his final season. “If this is really it, I thank everyone for your love and support for all these years,” Carter said in part.
NBA 2K League To Postpone Season
In response to the rapidly escalation of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the NBA’s esports affiliate, the NBA 2K League, will postpone the anticipated March 24 start of its season, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).
The 2K League and the NBA are coordinating to potentially have the esports games be played remotely, Lowe notes. Last year, all regular-season games were played in Long Island City, New York, at the the NBA 2K League Studio. They were broadcast via a Twitch live stream.
The NBA 2K League had its inaugural season in 2018. Currently, 21 of the 30 NBA teams have 2K clubs. The reigning championship squad is the Timberwolves’ affiliate 2K team, T-Wolves Gaming.
NBA Recommends Players Self-Quarantine Through March 16
Now that the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has ground NBA play to an indefinite halt, the NBA has recommended that all players self-quarantine through at least next Monday, March 16, per Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link).
The league wants players to remain in their home markets (and actual homes) as long as they are able, and refrain from holding group workouts, meetings, or practices until then.
Team physicians and trainers have been advised to consult with their players regarding their health at least once per day, Stein adds in a supplemental tweet.
The fact that the NBA wants players to remain in their teams’ cities and in close contact with team medical staffs could indicate that the league is optimistic for the resumption of regular season play at some juncture, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer posits (Twitter link).
Bulls Stop All Team Activities
The Bulls have announced that the team will be suspend all team activities for the next few days, but will keep its players in the Chicagoland area, per a team press release (Twitter link).
The NBA has suspended its 2019/20 season indefinitely due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. That may come as some relief to the Bulls, who sport just a 22-43 record. They are presently the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference, eight games behind the 30-35 Magic. Chicago’s best player, shooting guard Zach LaVine, has been hampered by a sore left quad throughout March.
According to the team press release, the Bulls had to be returned home from Orlando last night – where they had been scheduled to play their next game – after the season was postponed. No Bulls are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, according to the team.
Though teams have been cleared to practice with their players during the indefinite season suspension, Chicago medical personnel recommended this more drastic course of action to prioritize social distancing and curtail risk. Team owners apparently want commissioner Adam Silver to reappraise the situation in 30 days.