There were no fans in attendance at Archbishop Stepinac on the night of March 11. There wasn’t even supposed to be a game being played there.
It was the quarterfinals of the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) playoffs, and No. 2 St. Raymond’s was scheduled to play No. 3 Archbishop Molloy at Christ the King in Queens.
That game had to be relocated. The reasoning? The teams needed to find a smaller facility, with fewer people on site.
The coronavirus outbreak was picking up steam in the United States, and New York City was becoming its hot spot. Today, more than 1 million Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus with New York alone responsible for more than 300,000 confirmed cases and about 20,000 deaths.
R.J. Davis, who signed with University of North Carolina, was unable to complete his HS hoops career due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy Lonnie Webb & Stepinac Athletics)
In the early stages of the virus, St. Ray’s and Molloy were caught in the middle of a pandemic, forced to play one of several New York City high school basketball games without fans.
“Because of the fear of having big crowds, you kind of realized this was a lot bigger and a lot scarier than what most people had anticipated,” St. Ray’s coach Jorge Lopez told The Daily News. “It was a weird experience, somewhat morbid.”
“Typically when you do something like that, you say it’s like a scrimmage,” added Molloy coach Michael McCleary. “St. Raymond’s handled us pretty well that day. Coach Lopez had a good chance to win everything this year. It was too bad that the season didn’t come to an official conclusion.”
On the ride home from their playoff game, news broke of Rudy Gobert’s status as coronavirus positive, along with the NBA’s subsequent decision to suspend its season. It was the beginning of a domino effect across not just the NBA but all pro sports. Gobert’s teammate Donovan Mitchell tested positive the next day, and four Brooklyn Nets players, including Kevin Durant, tested positive over the ensuing week.
“That’s when I knew this was for real,” Lopez said. “When the NBA suspended its season, we knew that in all likelihood, we probably weren’t going to be able to finish out the playoffs.”
That game without fans was only the beginning.
South Shore High School’s dominant girls basketball team (22-2) had just finished an 18-point victory over Summit Academy to pave its way to the Public School Athletic League (PSAL) championship game.
Three days earlier, the girls beat Francis Lewis in the first round — by 46.
“The championship game was supposed to be Saturday, March 21,” South Shore coach Anwar Gladden told the Daily News. “I just remember telling [a PSAL official], ‘I don’t think we’re gonna make it to that date.’ And then right after the game [against Summit], that’s when you saw the arenas getting emptied for the NBA teams, and we knew there was no way we were going to finish [the season].”
The South Shore girls team was dominant before the virus hit.
And top-seed Archbishop Stepinac was scheduled to play its first playoff game after a double bye that Sunday. That game was postponed. Then it was postponed again.
Head coach Patrick Massaroni said one of the hardest things he’s had to do was tell his seniors their season was done.
“When you have a team that is so cohesive and special and ranked top-25 in the country, you never know when you’re gonna get that bond again,” Massaroni told the News. “We were clicking at the right time. That was probably the hardest part, and in New York, there’s so much hype around basketball and sports in general, that we were getting to the point where there could have been some elite matchups if things played out right in the playoffs.
“That could have just led to some unbelievable atmospheres which is what New York City basketball is all about.”
Basketball came to an end soon after, with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo mandating schools close and the PSAL postpone its season. South Shore has nine seniors on its girls basketball team, and only six of them have committed to colleges so far.
South Shore, though, has been a dominant basketball program for the better part of this decade.
“It’s a good thing our program is at a level where a lot of college coaches are trusting that my kids can play,” Gladden said. “I’m sure it’s been a lot easier for us, but still I’m still working. I still have three kids that need schools.”
Not every school has been so fortunate. Some high school head coaches find themselves as half salesmen and half video editors. They’re crafting highlight reels by the day, sending them off to colleges in hopes of landing their seniors a scholarship.
“It’s been tough considering the playoffs are such a big stage for them,” Lopez said. “That right now has been a lost opportunity for them. New York City playoffs, you get some of the top coaches in the country come out to watch them play during those games, and the fact that they’re not there — what do I tell my players? They know that they missed out.”
It wasn’t just organized basketball, either.
Social distancing became government-mandated. As a result, access to public facilities was severely restricted. Gyms were shut down and rims were removed from backboards in public playgrounds.
For many kids, ball is life. But what happens when ball has died?
Many athletes build their world around the Nike Elite Youth Basketball circuit after the school season is over. Several EYBL events have been canceled, while others have been postponed until further notice.
“I think what’s happening now is that things have changed so much that some of [the high school athletes] are now struggling to deal with it,” Chris Chevannes, head coach of The Patrick School (formerly St. Patrick’s) in New Jersey, told the News. “They realize there’s a strong possibility there might not be any summer ball. There might not even be any ball come fall.
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“The adults are going through a lot of things, but I think for the kids, they’re just seeing things kind of disappear. I’ve got seniors who are not gonna see a senior year. It just went away. The same has happened to EYBL. It’s taken a toll on the kids, it definitely has.”
“It’s hard man. These kids’ living conditions are not — a lot of them don’t have driveways that they can put up hoops,” said Gladden. “It’s just conditioning and it’s more mental because they don’t know when [things will open back up]. I told them to just be ready. When everything does open back up, don’t be behind. Just be as ready as you can.”
“I know they’re driving their neighbors crazy because they’re working on their ball-handling skills and just trying to simulate game situations with their siblings,” Massaroni added. “It’s been tough. Some of them will take a walk or run around the neighborhood, and they’ll do so with a basketball in their hands. You’ve got to be somewhat creative under these circumstances.”
This high school basketball season was lost at its peak — in the playoffs for some, robbing the remainder of a senior season for most. There’s no telling when basketball will be alive again — but just like the NBA threw the red flag at the beginning of the outbreak, coaches are hoping the league throws a green flag to pave the way forward for the youth.
“Who knows? Nobody really can see the finish line. I’ve just been trying to use the guideline of pro sports,” Gladden said. “Nobody is going to start playing at the high school and AAU level until the professional level kicks back in. So the quicker they can get back to it, the quicker the guidelines can start trickling down for the amateur kids and the amateur athletes.”