Self: KU hoops players’ arrival delayed two weeks due to spiking COVID cases in county
The scheduled arrival on campus of the University of Kansas basketball players for summer workouts will be delayed from July 20 until Aug. 2, KU coach Bill Self told The Star Wednesday.
NCAA rules allow college basketball coaches and trainers to begin working with their players eight hours a week from July 20 up until the start of school on Aug. 24.
“Just because of the spike in cases,” Self said of the recent increase in COVID-19 incidents in Douglas County. “We still feel like the risk of contacting it and quarantining … the risk of being exposed we believe is one we feel would be less in the environment they are presently in (hometowns or hometowns of friends).
“We know we will have to address this eventually and we are not running from it. The less amount of time we have to address it from the time of school starting (Aug. 24) would be better.”
KU’s football team stopped voluntary football workouts on July 3 for 14 days because of COVID-19 cases on the team. Other schools have had similar stoppages.
Self has been pleased that the basketball players have been working hard this summer on conditioning and their overall game away from Lawrence.
Currently, Marcus Garrett and Silvio De Sousa are the only players in Lawrence.
“We’ve had Zoom calls, meetings,” Self said. “Players and families know exactly where we are coming from. Even though we want them back here, we’ll get them here soon enough. Two more weeks in a time we’ve had so many spikes in Douglas County is not a negative thing.”
