A few coaches offering instruction, the bounce of a ball and the squeak of sneakers on the floor were about the only sounds during University of Houston basketball practice on Wednesday afternoon.
“What do you hear?” coach Kelvin Sampson said near a corner of the Guy V. Lewis Development Facility. “You hear every noise. You hear everything.”
It’s also the new reality, as the Cougars prepare to begin the postseason Friday at the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth.
A March without any of the madness.
The NCAA made the unprecedented decision Wednesday to hold the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments without fans due to growing concern over the spread of the coronavirus in the United States. While games will be played, they will do so in mostly empty arenas, with access restricted to essential staff and limited to family members.
Although disappointed, UH players said they understood the steps taken were in the interest of public health.
“I didn’t know how serious it was, but now how it’s effecting us I can tell how serious,” guard Nate Hinton said. “Hate it for the fans, but we just have to go out there and still play. It will be kind of a scrimmage vibe. We definitely feed off the fans and crowds. To hear that roar brings the game to another level.”
The AAC announced Wednesday evening that it would follow other major conferences around the country in limiting public access to its postseason tournament. UH, the regular-season co-champions and No. 2 seed, is scheduled to play Friday.
The 68-team men’s field will be announced Sunday, with teams being sent to eight different first- and second-round regional sites across the country: Albany, N.Y.; Cleveland; Greensboro, N.C.; Omaha, Neb.; St. Louis; Sacramento, Calif.; Spokane, Wash.; and Tampa, Fla.
The four regional sites for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be Toyota Center in Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and New York. The Final Four is scheduled for April 4 and 6 in Atlanta.
No rowdy fans.
No bands.
No cheerleaders.
Nothing but empty seats.
“It’s not going to be as fun, I guess,” forward Fabian White Jr. said. “It’s always nice to have the crowd there being loud. The new guys don’t get to experience that. As a competitor we’re still going to go out there and try to win.”
A year ago, during a run to the Sweet 16, the Cougars played Kentucky in front of 17,385 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Just a few weeks ago, UH played before 17,735 at the FedExForum in Memphis.
Now, Sampson said, the atmosphere is likely to be closer to the “secret scrimmages’ teams traditionally conduct in October.
“As far as this is concerned, everybody is in the same boat,” Sampson said. “Nobody has an advantage or disadvantage. You just go play basketball. Do the best you can and move on - or you go home. Simple as that.”
Sampson added that he is not qualified to comment on medical issues, but “I trust the people that do … we have to.”
The ramifications go beyond just filling arenas and have a far-reaching impact in the communities that host the regionals.
“There is so many layers of this that it effects,” Sampson said. “There is so much work that goes on year-round. I feel badly for them and the fans. I get the Super Bowl and the NFL, but as far school pride, there’s nothing like Thursday and Friday in the first round of the tournament. It’s a rush. They call it March Madness. It’s just unbelievable. What makes it special is the fans.”
Hinton said it will be important for players to keep up the intensity even with no spectators.
“You have to be aware of the stakes,” he said. “There is still going to be a champion at the end of the year.”
With the Cougars a lock for a third straight NCAA appearance regardless of what happens in the AAC tournament, Sampson said he will not do anything different “whether there are 20,000 (fans) or 120.”
“Everybody wants to be in the NCAA tournament,” he said. “ Selection Sunday is the most important day of college basketball.”
twitter.com/joseph_duarte
"sound" - Google News
March 12, 2020 at 08:30AM
https://ift.tt/2Q9Iv10
UH ready for the sound of silence in NCAA tournament - Houston Chronicle
"sound" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2MmdHZm
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment