Oklahoma Basketball Gearing Up For 2020-21 Season With Masks, Social Distancing In Practices
Though the sporting world has its eyes trained on the 2020 football season at the moment, Lon Kruger’s Sooner basketball team is looking much further down the road.
After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic denied Oklahoma a likely NCAA tournament berth and brought an untimely end to Kristian Doolittle’s career, the Sooners are back on the court preparing for another run. As of Monday, Lon Kruger and his staff are once again conducting workouts.
“Yeah, it’s great to have [players] back,” Kruger said to media Friday. “It’s been since March 13, when they left campus. Over four months, obviously. Great to have them back for the most part. I think they’ve done a terrific job of working out on their own and staying safe.”
It’s much too early to predict if and how COVID-19 will affect the 2020-21 basketball season, but in the meantime, the Sooners are working with the utmost caution to prevent an outbreak. It’s not out of the question that masks and social distancing policies could become the new normal once the season arrives. Thus, Oklahoma is practicing accordingly.
“We were able to start with some form of workouts on Monday,” Kruger said. “It’s evolved into a lot of team shooting, working in smaller groups, distancing a little bit in practice, all the players wearing masks, coaches wearing masks. Four times a week, 45 minutes to an hour each time. Lifting three or four times a week as well, so four hours on the court, four hours off the court.”
Despite the trying times, Kruger maintains confidence in the squad that he’ll send to the floor come November. The Sooners bring back Brady Manek and Austin Reaves, who both averaged double digits last year. The only contributors from last year’s team that won’t return are Doolittle and guard Jamal Bieniemy, who transferred to UTEP.
“It’s a veteran group,” Kruger said of his team. “We’ll miss Kristian, of course - an all-league player. Jamal decided to transfer out; we’ll miss Jamal. But for the most part, the majority of the minutes are back, and I like the new guys coming in a lot.”
Kruger said that he and his staff are working to obtain immediate eligibility waivers for transfer guards Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless, who will otherwise have to sit out a year.
The game has changed quite a bit for Kruger, especially as it pertains to recruiting and meeting with staff. However, the 67-year-old has taken the changes in stride, and he’s altogether pleased with the overall result. In fact, he believes that virtual meetings may become a staple in collegiate athletics going forward.
“Prior to March, I’d never been on a Zoom call,” he laughed. “We’re recruiting without leaving campus. No one’s been to campus, officially or unofficially. [But] you can get a lot of things done on Zoom that maybe keep you from getting on a plane and flying somewhere for a meeting. Even though you’d like to see people in person, you can certainly get a lot done through Zoom, and that’s been the case.”
Kruger and the Sooners haven’t yet reported a single positive COVID-19 test. Last week, Oklahoma’s athletic department logged just a single case among 100 players and staffers who underwent testing.
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