SC basketball season nears playoffs as programs battle COVID stops and starts
Joshua Staley usually has a pretty detailed practice plan each for his team.
But many times this season, the A.C. Flora High School boys basketball coach has had to rip that practice plan up. That’s been the nature of trying to play winter sports during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staley and the Falcons, the top-ranked team in Class 4A, learned Wednesday they would have to pause activities for the next two weeks after a player tested positive for COVID-19. It’s the second time this year the Flora boys team has had to quarantine.
A.C. Flora will be out of action until Feb. 3. The halt comes after Flora defeated Irmo last Tuesday 51-45 in a matchup of top teams in Region 5-4A. The teams hope to make up a second game at a later date.
“It has been tough, I’m not going to lie,” said Staley, whose Falcons have played half of the region schedule’s 10 games. “It is not what we are used to, stopping, starting and stopping again. I’m trying to just make the best of it. We are 5-0 in region, 9-0 overall and trying our best to try and stay healthy for when we come back.”
Winter high school sports in South Carolina are less than a month away from the playoffs, and teams are trying to finish a season of playing through a pandemic as gracefully as they can. That’s been tough to do while navigating team quarantines and an unstable game schedule.
Some teams have only played two or three times, with others such as 5A state champion Dorman playing 15 games so far this season. While football in South Carolina saw around 10% of the entire season’s games canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus, that number has been closer to 50% on a given week for high school boys and girls basketball teams. Some high school teams in the state remain on pause for at least another week because of their own school district policies.
The state of South Carolina has been near or above 2,000 new COVID cases a day since Dec. 1, and at or above 3,000 new cases daily since Jan. 1. Coaches and players remain as optimistic as they can be while trying to complete an unusual season.
“You just have to make the most out of each day,” Staley said. “We are trying our best to navigate these difficult times. It’s crazy right now.”
Teams, even entire counties, on pause
A.C. Flora isn’t the only top-ranked program on pause in the Midlands because of COVID. Keenan High School’s girls team, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, also will be out of action until Feb. 1 after one of the Raiders’ opponents, Lower Richland, had someone in their program test positive.
“We just started picking up a rhythm with hitting the region, and now you got to go home for two weeks with no contact or conditioning,” Keenan girls coach Reggie McLain said. “We have been sending them a lot of film so they can stay in touch with basketball.”
Most Midlands teams have faced shutdowns or cancellation at some point this season. Brookland-Cayce and Airport, which are in the Lexington 2 school district, had one of the longest breaks locally from competition. The BC boys went 42 days since their last game before they took the court last Tuesday in a 57-45 in over Fox Creek.
The two teams were supposed to play again Friday, but that game was postponed because of a COVID-19 issue within the Fox Creek program. BC played the following night against 5A champion Ridge View and lost 87-53.
Across the state, schools in Florence, Darlington, Charleston and Horry counties are in the middle of more than month-long stoppages because of district mandates.
Horry County resumed games this week, while Darlington and Charleston schools have games scheduled for next week. Florence 1, which is made up of South Florence, West Florence and Wilson high schools, was set to resume practice Monday with games scheduled for next week. The Wilson boys team, which is coached by former Gamecock Carlos Powell, has played just two games this season.
Lake City High School, located in Florence District 3, announced it was ending winter sports but reversed course a few days later. Sumter County school athletics, which include Sumter, Crestwood and Lakewood, have been on pause since the district went back to virtual learning this month. The district said it hopes resume hybrid learning Feb. 1. For now, no sports are being played.
Lee Central and Ridgeland-Hardeeville high schools are the only schools in the state that opted to not play winter sports.
“It has been very challenging,” said Brookland-Cayce boys coach Robert Wells, who tested positive for COVID-19 last month. “Really taught our kids some life lessons about patience and how to handle adversity. We teach them to always look for the positives. Lot of these things are out of our control, so you have to stay positive and stay ready when you get the opportunity to play.”
Wrestling teams have faced their own challenges this winter. Defending 5A Lower State champion White Knoll finally had its first competition of the season last week when it hosted a tri-match.
What about the postseason?
There are no plans to pause or shut down winter sports in the state, according to S.C. High School League commissioner Jerome Singleton, leaving those decision to individual school districts. No proposals for a broader shutdown have been suggested to the league’s executive committee.
Public high schools in South Carolina can begin official spring sports practices on Feb. 1.
“We always said it needs to be a local decision and for them to make the best decision for their students with safety being priority,” Singleton said during the Jan. 13 SCHSL executive committee meeting. “If any adjustments need to be made, we will work our way through it. The winter sports season is a lot more challenging than we had with the fall season.”
The S.C. High School League is allotting winter sports a few extra days to play makeup games if needed. Most teams left an open week or two at the end of the season for those make-up games.
Some schools are opting for region tournaments that will determine playoff seedings. Basketball playoffs will start Feb. 20, a week later than normal. Teams have until Feb. 18 to report playoff qualifiers. The postseason was shortened to four rounds with the top two teams in the region making the playoffs — as opposed to the top four teams in a normal season.
The state basketball championships are set for March 4-6 at a to-be-determined venue — not the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia as is traditional. SCHSL associate commissioner Charlie Wentzky said a location for those games should be decided in the next week or two.
Wrestling dual playoffs begin Feb. 13 and conclude with state finals Feb. 20 at Dreher High School in Columbia. Wrestling individual qualifiers will take place on Feb. 26-27, and those state finals will be March 5-6 at a location to be determined.
Just like with fall sports, once the playoffs start they won’t be stopped. If a team has a COVID-19 issue, they will have to drop out of the postseason. The only exception is a state championship game, which can be delayed until both teams can play. The SCHSL moved back the Class 2A football championship game two weeks in December after Marion High School had a COVID-19 issue.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 11:41 AM.
