Coronavirus struck Terps men's basketball in late August originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Coronavirus is going to have an impact throughout the whole college basketball season. The Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball program has already felt the ramifications of what a positive case can do to a team.
On Tuesday’s head coach Mark Turgeon said that COVID-19 spread through the team in late August and early September.
After sending the team home for a break in August with no complications, when the players returned one player tested positive. It is believed that the individual brought it back with them. By virtue of another individual driving the unnamed player to the doctor and several of the players living together, multiple people got the virus.
“We had a few members of our team catch it and they’ve done all the testing all the heart MRIs and all that stuff,” Turgeon told the media during a Zoom meeting. “And we feel good about it, everybody’s healthy and doing great. And, you know, we’re just gonna try to keep it out of our program but we went through it.”
Through the mini outbreak, the team missed a couple of weeks of practice. One individual missed nearly a month of preparation.
“One guy missed up to about 26,27 days just making sure that he was healthy so that we’re in the clear now,” Turgeon said. “Hopefully, we can do our best to stay that way.”
The Terrapins are testing six times a week, double the NCAA’s recommendation of three times for teams gearing up for the season. With roughly two weeks to go before the start of the season on Nov. 25, Turgeon believes they are in a good spot.
College football has already seen the impact the virus can have on teams. Several student-athletes across the country have contracted the coronavirus. Many games have been canceled as a precaution to prevent the spread for fears of an outbreak.
“I’m comfortable that we’re doing everything we can to make it work,” Turgeon said. “We test, six days a week. That doesn’t mean we can’t catch it. You know, we’re all sacrificing, as an athlete and coach you sacrifice anyway. But we know it’s going to be a part of our game this year. “
