David Noel III 'We All Love Basketball but that comes Secondary to Protecting People We Love'

Former Tar Heel and current G-League Coach, David Noel III, reflects on the first moments of COVID-19 impacting sports and what that immediately meant for his first season as a coach.

Unless you're watching 'ESPN Classic', there hasn't been any sports gracing our televisions, laptops or phones; if you committed to no tv during lent, this immediately got easier. With the rising numbers in the global pandemic of COVID-19, anything that allows the social gathering of more than 50 people has been cancelled; restaurants, bars, clubs, malls and all sporting events, came to a screeching halt. No one could've foreseen anything like this, the world at a complete stop. 

The world, 7.8 billion people, are advised to avoid contact and stay at home; they call it social distancing. By definition social distancing is the perceived or desired degree of remoteness between a member of one social group and the members of another, as evidenced in the level of intimacy tolerated between them. This is the first time, in many of our lifetimes, we've seen anything like this; A virus spreading at such a rapid pace that the only way to stop it or slow it down is to avoid people at all cost. 

When the NBA suspended its season, many of us knew it was serious; it slapped us in the face when Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and Tom Hanks all tested positive. It's time to take this serious. After the NBA announced it's decision, the NCAA followed and it trickled down. Days later, the G-league officially announced it was suspending its season with only eight regular season games left and play offs around the corner. 

Former Tar Heel and 2005 National Champion, David Noel III, currently coaches the Capital City Go-Go, the Washington Wizard's G-League affiliated team, gave insight on how coaches are preparing their players for what seems to be the end of their season and protecting themselves against an unknown enemy. 

QL: What was your initial reaction when you heard the news about COVID-19?

DN: Honestly, it all came like a whirlwind; it hit us so quickly. We had started with practice, and then we got an email telling us that we would have our temperature checked daily. We started practice using hand sanitizer; we usually dap up, but we just pounded, elbowed, or gave each other feet taps instead. It really hit us after Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, then it was just a matter of getting in front of it and taking it a little bit more seriously than we had; it made its way into the circle, so to speak. The G-League is a bit different; we were taking commercial flights were the NBA doesn't; they take private jets, so of course, we have to protect ourselves a little more.

QL: What was the G-League's immediate response to coaches?

DN: We had conference calls and told to make sure we were taking safety precautions; we stopped going into the facilities. The important thing was don't panic, you want to be careful, understand how to prevent it and keeping everyone safe and healthy. 

QL: As someone who knows both ends of the game being a former player on the collegiate/professional level and now a coach, what did you think when the NBA/NCAA suspended its season?

DN: When they came out and said the NBA was stopping play, my initial reaction was 'wait a minute!' I never thought I would see the NBA/NCAA ever shut down honestly because of the money. I'm genuinely proud and thankful for Commissioner Silver and NCAA for taking the right precautions to protect everybody and not just family and friends. I know this is a difficult situation because we love basketball, we love the game; if we could have it year-round, we would, but at the end of the day you want to protect people from death. You don't want people dying because they went to a basketball game. I definitely think it was the right thing to do so we can get in front of it and make the proper decisions regarding the season. 

QL: What was the team atmosphere of the team?

DN: We were just kind of in shock, and this is my first year, I was ready for this last stretch, we're making a playoff push; we were excited to finish out these last eight games strong. Again, honestly, that all comes secondary to everyone's health

QL: With the season in the wind, what are your next steps?

DN: They're going to have testing soon to make sure we're ok. I think this thing will die down soon and personally, and I think we will get back to regularly scheduled programming in the next couple of weeks. I'm definitely brining my butt home if they say so.