Golden State Warriors rookie Eric Paschall had a strong reaction to the Ivy League choosing to cancel its tournament due to the fear of a coronavirus outbreak.
The former Villanova Wildcats star isn't far removed from his collegiate days, sympathizing with those seniors who will graduate without getting the NCAA tournament experience — as the Ivy League has defaulted to sending the team with the best record to the big dance.
“I can’t imagine how this could affect the seniors of this league who never made the NCAA tournament or a coach that is on the hot seat,” tweeted the Warriors talent. “Teams get hot during the tournament! Imagine the NCAA saying the top seed in the NCAA tournament being called national champs! This is bad!”
Bryce Aiken, point guard for the Harvard Crimson, slammed the Ivy League's decision to take this course of action, as Yale earned the bid to represent the conference in the NCAA tournament.
Horrible, horrible, horrible decision and total disregard for the players and teams that have put their hearts into this season. This is wrong on so many levels and the @IvyLeague should do its due diligence to find a better solution. Everyone knows the risks of playing! https://t.co/HQXprzX9q6
— Bryce Aiken (@BryceAiken) March 10, 2020
The NCAA has also created an advisory panel with leading medical, public health and epidemiology experts from their respective fields and NCAA member schools to guide the response to the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic.
“The NCAA is committed to conducting its championships and events in a safe and responsible manner,” said Donald Remy, NCAA chief operating officer. “Today we are planning to conduct our championships as planned, however, we are evaluating the COVID-19 situation daily and will make decisions accordingly.
“We are actively monitoring COVID-19 in the United States and will make recommendations on competition based on the evolving medical protocols established by the CDC, NIH and state and local authorities,” said NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline, who will lead the group. “We are in daily contact with the CDC and are advising leadership on the Association’s response to this outbreak.”
The Warriors talent is not far removed from winning an NCAA title with Villanova and getting to experience the NCAA Tournament in all three of his years as a member of the team. Defaulting to an automatic winner has not only put jobs at risk for the coaches, but left players like Aiken without one last chance to represent their school in hopes to make an appearance in the Big Dance.
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