As e-learner Luca Sullivan sat at home Thursday, he heard an intercom announcement over a Zoom call just minutes before the end of his Block 4 class. All junior varsity and varsity basketball players were told report to the cafeteria immediately. 

“My heart dropped,” the junior said. “I didn’t want to lose any games this season, but I knew what would happen. I was slightly relieved because it didn’t happen during a part of our season when we had three games a week.”

As Sullivan expected, both teams were sent home to quarantine for two weeks. But the question remains: How will the team practice for the upcoming games they will play in after their quarantine ends? Sullivan said it’s all about personal commitment.

“We are a well-conditioned team, and we play well together,” Sullivan said. “We just have to stay focused and stay in shape because we will most likely have one or two practices before our next game, and if we aren’t in shape, we can’t win.”

All basketball players will have to participate in in school through e-learning. 

“I don’t think e-learning will affect me that much,” sophomore Chris Wood. “I’m a little biased against it because I don’t like [e-learning], but some people have said that they learn better in school, and I feel like I’m probably one of those people.”

Wood said the team followed all COVID-19 precautions on and off the court.

“The team was being socially distant at practices and games,” Wood said. “Whenever we weren’t on the court, guys would have their masks on, especially at games. When anyone was on the bench, they had to wear masks.”

The team will miss three games, but senior Bennet Kent  said being quarantined could have been worse.

“We still have 17 [games] left,” Kent said. “So I’m not too worried about it affecting the season as a whole. As far as practices go, as long as we stay in shape during quarantine, then we should be fine when we come back.”

Kent said he’s already staying in shape.

“I’ve been working out every day, and I know a good amount of the team has been doing so too,” Kent said. “We all have basketball hoops at our house, so we’ve been getting shots up every day. ”

The team will be permitted to resume practice Dec. 21. 

“I honestly think that it’s not the biggest deal, because it now gives guys a little time to relax and work on their personal games,” Wood said.