COVID has SC high school basketball teams pivoting again for season’s final stretch

It’s been a challenging season for the River Bluff High School boys basketball team.

The Gators won their first Class 5A state championship a season ago with a senior-heavy lineup but have struggled to a 5-12 record this year. This past week, the River Bluff boys and girls teams were out of practice as the high school shifted to virtual learning because of COVID-19’s impact on staffing.

The Gators had to postpone their rivalry game against Lexington and will make it up later in the season. River Bluff returned to practice Friday and anticipates taking the floor against Dutch Fork on Tuesday.

“It is tough. You are in the middle of the season. And the season isn’t going the way you want, so you want to put in more work,” River Bluff coach Ben Lee told The State on Thursday. “We just ask the kids that they are going to be responsible for things when they are out. They can still find ways to get to work. It has definitely been tough.”

The state of South Carolina’s high school basketball programs are into the back half of their schedules and facing COVID obstacles that are both similar and different from this time a year ago.

According to the S.C. High School League, there were 247 games canceled or postponed of the 856 scheduled girls and boys basketball games around the state from Jan. 2-15. Last season, during the peak of the virus in the month of December 2020, there was a stretch where 170 of 394 games were canceled in one week.

“We didn’t have this shutdown last year,” Lee said. “Last year, schools had a hybrid plan in place so there was avoiding close contacts. This year, it is a little tougher because you run into a little more close contacts.”

‘Joy in the craziness’

As much as A.C. Flora boys basketball coach Joshua Staley was enjoying Friday’s win over Irmo, he also knows the season could be paused at any time.

Staley stood outside the Falcons’ locker room spraying his players with hand sanitizer as they walked out following the 60-55 victory.

Friday’s matchup between Flora and Irmo featured the top two teams in Class 4A, but the atmosphere was diminished a little with the crowd limited to 50% capacity because of Lexington-Richland 5’s new COVID protocols. A lot of fans in attendance wore masks. Meanwhile, the girls game scheduled between the two schools was postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Irmo team.

“I have made a decision not to put myself through that trauma every day — just go with whatever happens,” Staley said. “We are going to keep going and live with it because it is so stressful and it is not fair to the kids. We’ve got to figure out a way to keep joy in all the craziness.”

Flora’s school district, Richland 1, announced that it will limit indoor spectator attendance starting Tuesday and “until further notice.” Richland 1 venues will be limited to 40% capacity, or a max of 600 for high school games.

Lexington-Richland 5 — which includes Irmo, Chapin and Dutch Fork — announced that classes will be virtual through Tuesday but athletic events can be held at 50% capacity.

Similar impacts are playing out statewide.

Spartanburg District 5, which includes Byrnes High School, announced it would be virtual and that Rebels basketball games would be postponed. Orangeburg County School District, Bamberg School District 1 and 2 and Dorchester School District 4 all are in virtual learning and postponed games. Orangeburg and Bamberg plan to return on Tuesday with Dorchester 4 on Thursday.

After relatively few impacts during the fall sports season — and even the early part of the winter season — there has been a rash of cancellations and postponements across the state in January. The surge in COVID cases is behind much of the disruptions.

In November, South Carolina was averaging fewer than 600 new COVID-19 cases per day, but has since surged to an average of more than 13,700 new cases this week. On Friday, there were more than 19,000 new confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases reported statewide. The omicron variant now accounts for 100% of coronavirus cases in the state, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

With region play beginning last week for most basketball teams in the state, postponements are going to force schools to cram region games into a given week to get through the regular season. Region games matter most because they determine playoff qualifiers.

The last regular season basketball games are scheduled for Feb. 10 or Feb 11, with playoffs beginning the following week. State championships are scheduled for March 3-5 at USC Aiken Convocation Center.

What can be done?

Of the high school basketball coaches who responded to a survey from The State, 47% say their confidence in playing through this season is the same as it was this time a year ago. Also, 37% said they were less confident, with 16% saying they felt better about things.

Among coaches’ concerns:

▪ Navigating quarantine rules, COVID protocols and cleaning procedures that vary by school district;

▪ Having no room built into the schedule for make-up games;

▪ Playing games with fans not being required to wear masks;

▪ COVID vaccination rates among the public, but particularly teens.

“Biggest concern is that there is no way of controlling the spread within school or even at home,” one coach said. “I don’t know if there is a best course of action right now.”

According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, 38% of those ages 12 to 17 in the state have completed the vaccination process. That compares with 52% of people in the 18-64 age range. That jumps to 80% in the 65-and-older group.

S.C. High School League commissioner Jerome Singleton told The State that there are no plans to extend the regular season to accommodate missed games.

“A few more postponements than anticipated but they are being resilient and finding ways to get it done,” Singleton said. “They are figuring out whether it is not playing everyone twice or a region tournament. They seem to be on top of it, with lessons learned from last year.”

The difference last year was that schools had a week left in their schedules at the end of the season for makeup games. That’s not the case this year.

Also last year: Most, if not all, regions in the state scheduled the same team twice in a week in region play to minimize how many programs were impacted with a postponement. This year, only a handful of regions are doing that.

Some regions last season held a tournament to determine playoff qualifiers. That could be an option again this year. There are no limits on how many games could be played in a week, so coaches are hopeful all region games will be played by the end of the season.

“I think we will be able to” get all region games played, River Bluff’s Lee said. “It will probably include some three-game weeks. I think everyone has a strong desire to get games in, so we think that will still take place. If we can’t, we will come up with a plan.”

A closer look

A roundup of COVID-19 impacts on high school athletics in local schools or districts.

Richland 1: The district announced that, starting Tuesday, it will limit indoor spectator attendance “until further notice.” Richland 1 venues will be limited to 40% capacity, or 600 people for high school events and 100 for middle schools. Those numbers include teams, coaches and spectators. Mask wearing will be required at all times and “social distancing also will be enforced,” the district said.

Richland 2: As it’s been all winter season, capacity for each gym in Richland 2 varies from each school and is based on six feet of distance per person.

Lexington 1: There are no capacity limitations for Lexington 1 as of now. River Bluff High School was all virtual the past week, with plans to return to in-person classes and athletic events Tuesday.

Lexington 2: There are no capacity protocols, but the schools have signage reminding of protocols such as masks and social distancing. Like most of the districts in the area, Lexington 2 is using online-only payments for non-contact ticket sales.

Lexington-Richland 5: District schools are all virtual through Tuesday. Any athletic event scheduled for Tuesday will take place at 50% spectator capacity.