The Boys Basketball team is being put on hold until at least this Friday due to a number of players with illness. Three games have been postponed to dates yet to be determined; Highland Park at home, Washburn away and Seaman at home will all be made up in the future. 

“At present we put a pause on the Boys JV and Varsity basketball teams,” Manhattan Athletic Director Mike Marsh said. “That pause will be from Jan. 5 through Jan. 14, and on Jan. 15, that’ll be the first day that we’ll come back for eligibility to start basketball practice up again.”

Marsh stated the team will be back to practice this Friday, and they intend on participating in the McPherson Tournament on Jan. 18. 

Marsh stated there will be some changes to the guidelines to help protect the teams better.

“We are going to require all the basketball players during practice to wear masks,” Marsh said. “When we travel, in order to maintain separation, the girls are going to travel with the girls, and the boys are going to travel with the boys.”

The players are doing the most they can while staying home. Most are trying to keep busy, with the extra free time, as well as work out.

“I’ve been working out at home and hanging out with my family,” junior Cade Perkins said. “It’s pretty boring to not have any basketball practice or games, and I’m looking forward to getting back to it. We will for sure be out of shape so hopefully in our two practices before the MAC Tournament we can get back in game shape and sharpen up our game since we’ve been off awhile now.”

Some are fortunate to have basketball goals outside of their home to stay on top of things, like senior Owen Braxmeyer who is looking to get back on the court as soon as possible. 

“Since quarantine, I have been shooting and doing some drills outside thanks to the fact that I have a basketball goal,” Braxmeyer said. “I’ve also been doing workouts along with running in my neighborhood to stay active and make sure I haven’t lost my game when it’s time to come back.”

The players and coaches have all been in touch since being in isolation, and are all in high spirits to return to the court and be back with each other in person again.

“We’ve all been in touch recently since everything went down, from coaches contacting us to playing video games with each other. It’s helping get through right now,” Braxmeyer said. “I think we’re all just counting down the days until we can get back to normal and back out on the court.”