As the days continue to fly by in the month of December, it's no secret that many people are excited for the year 2020 to be over. Despite being in the midst of the holiday season, it's fair to assume that there are some who'd be happy to skip a few weeks into the future, if given the option.
Unfortunately for the Duquesne men's basketball team, life does not come with a fast forward button.
For the second time this season the Dukes are shut down due to pandemic related issues. After having to miss the first two weeks of NCAA regulated practices because of just one player testing positive for COVID-19 in October, the program finds itself in a similar, if not more serious situation less than a month after competition began.
14 people within the Duquesne men's basketball program have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days. 12 of those 14 are players and the latest positive test was reported Thursday afternoon.
This information comes from a source who is both reliable and incredibly frustrated. He also happens to be the head coach of the team.
“The hard part is just being prepared to play," Keith Dambrot said when asked about his team's current situation. "You can’t really do anything with them. Most of our guys now, we aren’t even doing individual work with them because we’re just trying to keep them out of harm's way.”
Each day is a challenge during the pandemic. Regardless of how careful one is, there is almost always a chance they can be exposed to the virus. Dambrot and his team learned that earlier this month when they traveled to Kentucky to play the first three games of their season in the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic.
The event, which was played at the KFC Yum! Center and hosted by the University of Louisville, was said to be in a bubble type atmosphere. One where players, coaches and other staff could go, compete and be safe.
That was simply not the case for the Dukes, who had to leave a day early, before playing their third and final game scheduled due to multiple staff members testing positive while there.
"We thought the bubble in Louisville was going to be protective and help us and it ended up hurting us," Dambrot said. "The reason I know that is all of our staff members got hit, except me. I know those guys are careful. It just goes to show you that you get some bad luck sometimes.”
That 'bad luck' led to a very disappointing bus ride home, just a day after the team won its first game of the season. Duquesne's next time on a bus would be even worse.
On Saturday, while the team was boarding to head to Indianapolis to play a pair of freshly scheduled non-conference games, they were informed that there had been more positive tests.
Just like that, the everyone was forced off the bus. The trip was canceled, the games were called off and the Dukes were back to how they started the season in October: In quarantine.
In addition to the two non-conference contests getting canceled, Duquesne Athletics announced Thursday morning that Saturday's game at Richmond has been postponed.
Dambrot tells me that just over half of the 12 players who tested positive should be cleared to return to action by the 21st. The Dukes had originally hoped to play at least one game before Christmas. Now, the focus has shifted to just getting a chance to practice together.
Duquesne's next scheduled contest is on December 30 at Saint Louis. While the Dukes sit at home on Thursday, the Billikens will be facing off against NC State in a battle between two unbeaten teams.
Win or lose, Saint Louis will enter its game against Duquesne with a significant advantage, having played at the very least six games, with two more scheduled before the Dukes come to town. At least that's how Dambrot sees it.
“The biggest problem is it’s such an uneven playing field for everyone," Dambrot said. "I mean there is no excuses here but some teams haven’t been hit and other teams like Fordham haven’t played a game. It’s not even playing the games so much as not being able to practice.”
Regardless of the circumstances, Dambrot tells me that he and his team understand that no one will cry for them, no matter how hard things get.
With a roster featuring five returning starters plus a freshman class that Dambrot called his best since accepting the job in Uptown, Duquesne had high hopes entering the season. He says it will be on them, and only them to make sure they achieve the high goals that they set for themselves.
"We can sit there and make excuses or whatever and probably a lot of them would be legitimate but nobody wants to hear that at the end of the day," Dambrot said. "Nobody really cares at the end of the day other than what your record is. Nobody is going to look back and say ‘well, they only had six guys for that game’ or ‘they didn’t get to practice for two weeks then they played.’ Nobody cares. Ultimately all they look for at the end of the day is what your record is at the end of the year."
