Houston basketball: All 15 players have tested positive for COVID-19 this season
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson announces that all 15 players on his roster have tested positive for COVID-19 this season
On Thursday, Houston Cougars men’s basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson publicized during a media call that all 15 players on his team have tested positive for COVID-19 at some point this season.
Sampson detailed to the media that his team has been short-handed at practice in preparation for its first game in almost two weeks against Alcorn State on Sunday, Dec. 20.
Houston’s COVID-19 troubles first were made public when Coach Sampson and his son, assistant coach Kellen Sampson, were not present during the Cougars’ Dec. 5 contest against South Carolina. Because of COVID-19 concerns, the Houston program paused all basketball activities with the hope of eliminating the virus from spreading amongst the members of the team.
Houston basketball hasn’t played a game in quite some time
Sampson’s squad was scheduled to welcome Sam Houston State and Rice on Dec. 9 and 12 respectively but was forced to postpone both of those games.
“The last time that I saw these kids in a game was Nov. 29,” Sampson said. “This is unprecedented, man.”
Sampson expects to have eight or nine players to be cleared to play on Sunday. Currently, the Cougars have only had five or six players practice over the past few days.
Despite not having played since Dec. 5, the 4-0 Cougars sit at No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and are considered to be a contender to win the national title this season.
Kelvin Sampson, on the other hand, doesn’t look too much into his team’s high ranking. “I’ve been more focused on getting our kids healthy,” Sampson said.
The Cougars are slated to play four games in a ten-day stretch, starting with their Sunday matchup with Alcorn State. Coach Sampson’s squad will host Temple on Tuesday, Dec. 22, before kicking off conference play with road contests at UCF and Tulsa on Dec. 26 and 29, respectively.
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