University of Wisconsin – Green Bay’s Women’s Basketball Team, Photo Credit: Instagram @uwgbwbb
Leading up to the college basketball season, there was much uncertainty around whether the season would continue or be canceled, as the battle with COVID-19 is ongoing.
Initially, the season was scheduled to start on November 10, but it was pushed back due to COVID-19. During a meeting on Wednesday, September 16, the NCAA announced that the 2020-21 Division 1 men’s and women’s basketball season could start November 25.
The women’s basketball season will begin December 12, with Green Bay hosting Milwaukee, while the men’s basketball season will begin December 19, at Wright State, which has given players mixed emotions.
Hailey Oskey, Photo Credit: University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Hailey Oskey, majoring in Communication and a junior player for the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay’s (UWGB) women’s basketball team, speaks out.
“I am both excited and anxious. I still have a lot of unanswered questions. For example, what will happen if someone on a team tests positive for COVID-19? It will be a bummer if the season ends early again for the second year in a row,” Oskey explains.
Although the uncertainty has made Oskey uneasy, she believes there is always room for improvement, even during a pandemic.
“My one personal goal this season is to better me individually in at least one aspect of the game and one thing outside of basketball.
I’ve always trusted that if every person on the team betters themselves in at least one thing individually, you are then contributing to making the team better as a whole,” she states.
Oskey is not the only player with concerns about what this basketball season will look like. P.J. Pipes, a senior at UWGB majoring in Business, plays for the men’s basketball team. He weighs in on the topic.
P.J. Pipes, Photo Credit: Instagram @gbphoenixmbb
“I was excited when I heard the announcement. During the early part of the summer, I thought they were going to cancel the whole season, so being able to hear that we will be able to play a non-conference and conference season starting in November made me ecstatic,” Pipes shares.
However, this excitement comes with a little worry.
“I am a little nervous just because I have asthma, so I don’t know how my body will react if I do catch it. But with all the testing we will have to do once the season starts, that gives me hope that we and a lot of the teams we play will be able to stay safe this season,” Pipes states.
The 2020-21 basketball season is filled with mixed emotions and uncertainty as COVID-19 continues, but the UWGB men’s and women’s basketball teams are pushing through with precaution.
Written By: Angela L., Jade H., & Alison D.
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