WiFi doesn’t work well in the hotel, a trip to the minor league ballpark to walk the warning track represents getting out, and Roy Williams now knows Purdue is hosting part of the tournament.
Welcome to March Madness, coronavirus-style.
Wiped out a year ago by COVID-19 uncertainty, the NCAA Tournament is back. This year, it’s a bubble style centered around Indianapolis.
“We haven’t seen any pomp or circumstance yet, and I don’t think we will,” head coach Roy Williams said.
Williams is known for enjoying getting out and about, taking in sights and doing what people of the community do when he’s in tournament towns. But this year is different. After landing in Indianapolis about 5 p.m. Monday, the Tar Heels — like every team — quarantined in their rooms for the next 24 hours.
Meal service left outside the door. No meetings, no practice, no seeing teammates.
“Only thing we’ve done is stay in our room and swabbing our nose every six hours,” Williams said, perhaps half-jest, half-truth.
The Heels practiced Tuesday night, got in some weightlifting, and had the trip to the minor league park where they walked the warning track and around the home plate area.
“Today, we get the luxury of getting on a bus and riding an hour and 15 minutes to West Lafayette and we get to practice at Mackey Arena,” Williams said. “I didn’t even realize it was a site. I thought it was all here in Indianapolis.
“It hasn’t exactly been Maui.”
The quips aside, he’s genuinely grateful his players have the opportunity.
Carolina drew Wisconsin in the first round, and yes, the game was on the schedule for Purdue’s home arena since the pairings were announced Sunday.
In a Thursday morning press conference through the internet application Zoom, Williams said like the season, the players and team are adjusting. He calls the Badgers a formidable foe, with a contrast in game pace to what the Tar Heels prefer.
And the players? Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot lamented a few inconveniences but generally offered appreciation for what lies ahead.
After all, win six and they are national champs.
“This year’s national champion will be the most determined,” Brooks said. “If you think back to July when we came back to school, all the things we have had to sacrifice, this year’s champion will be the most determined.”
Meantime, there’s not a lot to do. For Tuesday’s day in the room, the movie aficionado devoured Spiderman 1, 2 and 3.
But he assures he takes nothing for granted.
“The fun is being here,” he said. “That’s fun.”