My Two Cents: Banning the Fans Means Nothing When Coaches are Sick

Nebraska coach Fred Holberg had to be rushed to the hospital near the end of Wednesday's game, setting off a major scare through Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — What a weird Wednesday in the sports world. The NBA shuts down over novel coronavirus scares. College tournaments close off games to fans as a precaution as well.

Yet Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, who was sick all day, coached him team anyway against Indiana in the Big Ten tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse until he could stand no more. He was so sick that he left the bench area with about four minutes to go, and was rushed to the hospital to get checked out.

With all these concerns, isn't the question so blatantly obvious? What the hell was he doing out there in the first place? 

We won't get ahead of ourselves here guessing at what might be wrong with Hoiberg. Certainly, he will be tested for COVID-19. And what if he has it?

VIDEO: Archie Miller talks about telling his players

If he does, he exposed his entire team, players and assistant coaches alike. He had his arm around Indiana coach Archie Miller when they said hello before the game. He exposed everyone he came across, at the team hotel earlier and at Bankers Life Fieldhouse during Wednesday night's game against Indiana, an 89-64 result that seems so incredibly meaningless right now.

He exposed everyone at the scorer's table that he walked by and leaned on for the 36 minutes of playing time that he was out there. Everyone in that first row? Possibly exposed.

And what about the people in the second row? Were they exposed? Here's the reason why I ask.

I was in that second row, covering the game. Fred Hoiberg stood about six feet from me for nearly two hours.

Concerned? Hell yes.

How concerned is everyone else? Well, it wasn't until almost midnight that Nebraska's players were finally allowed to leave their locker room and go back to their hotel.  

When it hits that close to home, that's when it gets real. 

Andy Katz from the Big Ten Network interviewed Hoiberg before the game and said in a televised report that Hoiberg said he wasn't feeling well but had been checked out by Nebraska's medical staff. But as the game wore on, he barely had enough energy to stand. At the timeout with just under four minutes to go in the game, he left for the locker room, and then almost immediately left for the hospital.

What this all means in the short term is that I will be shocked if there are games played here on Thursday. There are four games on the schedule, and the Big Ten has already announced that fans will not be allowed into the arena for the rest of the tournament. 

But what's the point of keeping fans away if you let a sick coach stroll out on the floor and interact with players — on both teams, really. 

Simply being cautious, Hoiberg should have never come into this gym. With all this craziness going on right now, THE SECOND he didn't feel good, he should have gone to the hospital.

That didn't happen, and now everyone is on pins and needles.

"I was told coming off of the floor of the unfortunate circumstances with the NBA, putting it on hold,'' said Indiana coach Archie Miller, the only person from either team to talk after Wednesday night's game. "I told our team that that happened, and we'll brace ourselves for what happens next.

"I think it's an evolving situation, and it's rapid, but it puts it into reality of the seriousness of it. When world experts start to recommend things, you obviously better listen. Obviously, you cross your fingers that the college basketball landscape can continue on, even if it means there aren't fans.''

It's such an important time of the year that Miller obviously wants to keep playing, but not at the risk of someone's health.

"You grind it out and get to this point of the season, and it's the most special time for our young guys. It's a special time for,the fans, and to get here with this happening, obviously, is a little bit unfortunate. So I think we're all crossing our fingers and hoping for the best, which is allowing us to continue to play. But like I said, when experts speak up, you'd better listen, and I think the NBA just probably put the sporting world on hold. We'll hope for the best, and clearly we're preparing to play (Thursday). Hopefully, that continues on.''

No one really knows. This is a floating target, for sure.

"Probably a lot like you guys, this is uncharted territory, and it's serious, and we don't want to do anything to harm anybody,'' Miller said. "We've got to listen to what they say, and we'll go with it.''

Miller chose not to bring any players to the media interview room, and for good reason.

"I decided to basically move those guys as fast as we possibly can, to get cleaned up after the game and get to the hotel as fast as possible,'' Miller said. "I think once you start getting the news that we got after the game, I think right now for our players, it's let's get cleaned up, let's get out of here, and let's get back to the hotel where we can keep our group kind of tight and move forward with (Thursday).

They're not going to have a whole lot of answers about what's going on anyway. Nothing strategic there or anything other than the fact that, hey, let's get these guys moving on their way, and I'll take care of the press conference.''

Miller didn't know what was transpiring with Holberg during his press conference, so it didn't come up. Here's to hoping it's not the worst news, because then everyone on that court might have been exposed.

It's going to be an interesting 24 hours.