‘We have players upset, crying’: Big Sky cancellation ends Sac State’s basketball season
Brian Katz boarded the bus in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday morning with aim to escort his Sacramento State men’s basketball team to the second round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
Then the call came.
It was athletic director Mark Orr, who informed the Hornets coach that the postseason event for men and women had been canceled due to coronavirus concerns, which went in line with other conference tournaments folding across the country, and it came hours after the NBA on Wednesday night suspended its season.
Sac State drove back to the team hotel. Players mingled in the hotel lobby with those from Eastern Washington, Thursday’s opponent in the tournament.
“Never seen anything like this, ever, ever,” Katz said by phone. “We have players upset, crying. They’re hurting. We have to defer to the medical experts on this, no question about it. It’s like what (Dallas Mavericks owner) Mark Cuban was saying last night. It’s like watching the end of a movie. It’s crazy, but we can’t for one second doubt any of this.”
Katz and the Hornets will bus back to Sacramento on Thursday, their season complete at 16-14. The final game was a victory, an opening-round tournament victory over Weber State.
Said Orr, “This whole thing is bigger than basketball or sports. There’s a lot going on in our world. It’s easy to get caught up in our tournaments, all across the country, but I back the decision 100 percent. For the health and safety of our student-athletes, our fans, our staff, our coaches – everyone – safety is always paramount.
“I’m concerned with what’s happening in the world right now,” Orr added. “We just don’t know what’s happening (with the virus spread). Coach Katz is here trying to manage a group of young men who are upset. We’re conscious that a lot of people out there are really suffering.”
Sac State is the host school for next week’s NCAA March Madness stop at Golden 1. The NCAA on Wednesday announced that those tournaments would be played without fans in an effort to cut down the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus. But this could all change.
“We’re on an hourly watch on that as well,” Orr said. “We have a call with the NCAA (on Friday) to find out more. I know in my 22 years in athletic administration, I’ve never seen anything like this. It affects everybody. At the end of the day, everyone has made the right decision on (canceling). We back them 100 percent.”