By Shara Talia Taylor
Following the cancellation and postponing of multiple professional and collegiate competitions as a result of COVID-19, a lingering question is, what now happens for college basketball students with NBA Hopes?
The NBA suspended the season March 11th and the NCAA Tournament canceled March 12th. The postposing of future NBA activities leaves NBA hopeful college students awaiting direction for their possible future careers.
“NBA teams are evaluating these players throughout the season and even prior seasons for certain prospects,” said Stu Jackson, the Executive Associate Commissioner for Men’s Basketball for the Big East Conference. “Its not just the tournament itself, but the entire season, NBA personnel are out evaluating prospects throughout the year. It gives them an opportunity to see the players compete against the highest level of competition in the NCAA tournament, particularly in the second round into the sweet 16 an elite 8.”
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The Big East Tournament was in session 2 on March 12th and COVID-19 had already started to effect college sports. St. Johns played Creighton at Madison Square Garden with limited guests. It was announced that the Big East tournament would be canceled at half time following several other cancelled college basketball tournaments that morning. Shortly afterwards the NCAA canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments and the remainder of the season on March 12th.
The NCAA sent out this tweet: “This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities”
Jackson said now college basketball students await their future with the uncertainty of other NBA events . “With the NBA canceling or postponing their season, it’s put a lot of the events of the spring in flux with respect to the NBA Draft, the NBA G League Elite camp, and the NBA Draft combine as well as the actual NBA Draft itself,” said Jackson.
Jackson said NBA personnel will have to rely on the information they gathered through out the season and alter the evaluation process in order to select players, while college players in the meantime will have to try to figure out conditioning without availability of private gyms and NBA facilities.
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