Villanova returns to practice after COVID outbreak among players, set to resume season next week

Jay Wright opened his Zoom conference call with reporters Thursday by declaring, “I’m the happiest guy in the world today.”

When the Villanova coach is that happy, you know it has to do with his players getting to play basketball. The Wildcats returned to the practice court for the first time since Jan. 3 after pausing team activities due to the positive COVID-19 tests of two of their players.

The program is coming off its third quarantine since September. The second one began on Dec. 26 after Wright tested positive. Then one day after that quarantine ended, the next one began. Wright described the mood when he informed his players of the latest one as “crushing.”

That mood changed Thursday to “amazing.”

“These guys impress me so much with their resiliency,” he said. “One of the things we have learned each time we’ve gone through this quarantine, if we ever have to do this again, what do you learn? The day you get hit, the day the positive tests hit you, those first couple of days are just devastating because you know what’s coming. Sitting alone in your room, it’s horrifying, it really is.

“Then as you get toward the end of that, everyone is getting so excited. Then the day you get back on the court is like the first day of practice of the season. Everybody is so excited. It’s like back in the day when you could practice on Oct. 15 and it was that first day and you were so excited. That’s what you’re like again. At least that part we learned if we ever have to do that again.”

The third-ranked Wildcats (8-1, 3-0 Big East) had four conference games postponed during the two quarantines and are scheduled to return to the court Tuesday night against Seton Hall at Finneran Pavilion, which would be their first game in 27 days.

However, only eight players were able to practice Thursday, with the two who contracted the coronavirus having to wait until Monday to undergo cardiac testing for myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.

Then there are injuries. Guard Caleb Daniels suffered a calf injury during the Jan. 3 practice and center Eric Dixon hurt his Achilles tendon. Sophomore guard Bryan Antoine, who hasn’t played this season after reinjuring his surgically repaired right shoulder, should be ready to go Tuesday, Wright said, but how much he will play is the question.

“Basically the guy hasn’t played since September,” Wright said, “so we’re trying to get him back. You’ve got to have a certain number of scholarship players available. He’s healthy and he’s available.”

After Seton Hall, the Wildcats host Providence on Jan. 23. The season has just six weeks to go after that and the Big East must find a way to fit in ‘Nova’s four postponed games along with the 11 conference contests that are already scheduled,

Wright said the league office and the athletic directors of the member schools continue to meet and discuss different scenarios with scheduling, knowing that the likelihood of each team playing the maximum of 20 conference games is dwindling.

“I don’t think they’re ready to make a decision,” he said, “but I know they’re considering options of everybody playing 18, or letting some play 20 and let everybody else get in as many as they can, and understanding that it’s not going to be equal. It’s going to be really tough to get 20. We might be able to pull it off.”

Wright said he was shocked at how good his players looked at Thursday’s practice. He said he has no idea how they will react when they return to game competition on Tuesday, but that just getting them back on the court and enthusiastic about playing again was special.

“No matter what we do this season, that’s going to stick with me as much as if we win any games or anything,” he said. “It’s just incredible how they remain mentally tough through this and resilient.”