LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas’ men’s basketball team avoided COVID-19 issues in its own program during the 2020-21 regular season.
The postseason is another matter.
KU coach Bill Self revealed Tuesday afternoon that starting power forward David McCormack and reserve forward Tristan Enaruna, who are roommates at McCarthy Hall, would miss the upcoming Big 12 Tournament because of COVID-19 protocols.
He said he believed they’d for sure be back for next week’s NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve tried hard to stay negative (in terms of COVID testing). We’ve done a really good job. We’ve caught an unfortunate break,” Self said Tuesday. “Fortunately for us,” he added, “it wasn’t so late that we couldn’t recover. Even though it’s not perfect, we can recover from this.”
Self said that no other KU players are having to isolate because of these two players entering COVID-19 protocols. And he said there was never any thought of the team skipping the Big 12 tourney.
It’ll be business as usual for the Jayhawks, who open with a quarterfinal game against Iowa State or Oklahoma at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
“They will not play in the Big 12 Tournament. We certainly anticipate having them next weekend but not this weekend,” Self said of Enaruna and McCormack.
Self — he said he learned they’d entered COVID protocols “semi-recently” — said he would not share any theories as to how they may have come into contact with the virus or individuals with the virus.
“There are some things I probably do know. That’s not going to be anything that we’d release to the public,” Self said, citing privacy laws. “It’s just unfortunate. Guys have done a great job to date or just to a couple days ago. Certainly I don’t hold anyone responsible for something that is obviously easily spreadable and those sorts of things.”
Self said McCormack and Enaruna “are both down and disappointed. Probably more David, just because David has been such a contributor and Tristan has not had as many opportunities. If you don’t have Dave it’d be nice to have Tristan next to Mitch (Lightfoot). He’d have been your only (other) tall guy, but I think they’ve taken it maturely and positively. It’s a ‘you guys go take care of business and we’ll see you next week,’ type of attitude.
“I don’t see it as a total downer for them,” Self added, “because there is an opportunity to come back (for NCAAs) but it does stink. This team is and still is looking forward to the postseason. The fact we didn’t win league and the league is so good, I think adds some extra juice (for Big 12 tourney). You get a chance to validate your season. Some team will get to validate its season if it’s not Baylor this weekend,” he added of the regular-season champs.
Self said that in looking at the bright side … “I do see this as an opportunity for some others.”
He said he had an idea of who’d replace McCormack in the starting lineup but did not identify that player.
“Of course I’d much rather play with our full complement of guys, no question, especially in a league this good. The bottom line is this week is important, but it’s still not as important as next week,” Self said.
