COVID-19 toll more than physical for hard-hit hoops teams

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Charmin Smith and her players figured they had gone through the worst of the pandemic in 2020-21.

COVID-19 precautions had forced the Cal's women's team to hold the first month of practices outdoors on a tennis court with portable baskets. Each player was required to have her own ball and was not allowed to pass it.

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Nine games were postponed because of COVID outbreaks, on their team or the opponent, and they fell five games short of playing the regularly scheduled 18 Pac-12 games. They finished 1-16 overall.

"We were really hopeful things would be back to quote-unquote normal and we would be able to experience a season without disruption and get people back healthy," Smith said. "It hasn’t been the case."

It hasn't been the case for a lot of teams. As of midweek in Division I, 420 men's games and 476 women's games had been postponed or canceled because of coronavirus outbreaks, according to Associated Press research, and COVID-19 has been ever-present even as the sport rolls toward tournament season.

The Cal women are among the hardest hit, having had seven Pac-12 games drop off their schedule because there wasn't enough time left to reschedule them. The Illinois women are playing their final eight regular-season games over 21 days due to rescheduling and will still fall four short of the standard 18 Big Ten games.

FILE - California head coach Charmin Smith talks with an official during an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the Pac-12 women's tournament Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Las Vegas. California women's basketball coach Charmin Smith and her players figured they had