The normally clean-shaven Matt McCall emerged from the UMass men’s basketball team’s 18-day quarantine with a dusting of facial hair. He stopped shaving in isolation and won’t cut the beard until the Minutemen take the floor for a game.
“Until we are out there on the floor in uniforms, I’m going to keep the beard flowing,” he said. “My wife likes it too.”
That return was supposed to be Wednesday at La Salle to open Atlantic 10 play, but that game is being rescheduled. UMass paused team activities and entered quarantine on Nov. 17. They returned to practice Saturday and Sunday, focusing primarily on conditioning and ballhandling to knock off rust.
“They were excited to be in the gym, man. They were flying up and down. The biggest concern for us as staff is getting their conditioning, getting their wind right but also not overdoing it,” McCall said. “Our guys are itching at the opportunity to play.”
Currently, the next game on UMass’ schedule is Sunday at Northeastern. The Minutemen thought they had a game lined up for Friday, but it was canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests not in the UMass program, McCall said.
“This whole scheduling deal is a challenge. We were good to go,” McCall said. “We will try to find an opponent for the end of the week. Whether or not that happens, I don’t know. It changes every single day.”
UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford compared the scheduling shuffle to his arrival in 2015 when the football program had one season left in the Mid-American Conference and just one home game booked for 2016. He scheduled six home games in his first six months.
“Don’t ask me how,” Bamford tweeted. “Trying to schedule (UMass men’s basketball) home games in 2020 has been even more challenging!”
Other than Atlantic 10 games, the only contest UMass has on the books at the moment is a game against Bryant “toward the Christmas break,” McCall said. Potential opponents playing league games over the weekend also complicates matchmaking.
Should UMass find an opponent for Friday, the Minutemen will be prepared. The coaching staff installed out-of-bounds plays and defensive options before the shutdown.
“We tried to put enough in in case this happens,” McCall said. “We knew this was a possibility and that we could get shut down.”
DRESS CODE — McCall and his staff are ditching the suits and dress pants on the sideline for polos and sneakers. They’re following a nationwide trend to move away from formal wear on the sidelines this season for the sake of practicality and comfort.
“When you get the polo on it’s much easier to move around. You can fly up and down the sidelines. I’m a high energy guy,” McCall said. “Wearing a mask with a suit is different than the presidential race where you’re not moving around as much.”
The change may be an adjustment for assistant coach Tony Bergeron, who has worn all-black suits, a silver, sparkling sports jacket and a dark purple ensemble in his time on the sidelines, among other fits.
“He even said he added a few pieces to his wardrobe, so he wants to wear the suits,” McCall said.
SANTOS ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE — UMass sophomore Preston Santos was not with the team when they returned to practice. He took a leave of absence in mid-November before the team halted activities.
“Preston is dealing with some personal issues. He’ back at home right now,” McCall said. “He’s doing better. We’re supporting him. We’re optimistic we can get him back at some point in time. We want him to spend that time at home to make sure that everything’s OK.”
STRONG START FOR A10 — UMass and St. Bonaventure are the only Atlantic 10 teams yet to open play. The league is already making national headlines, though. Preseason favorite Richmond upset then-No. 10 Kentucky in Rupp Arena on Nov. 29, and Saint Louis took down LSU.
“I’ve been in Rupp Arena and you thought the roof was gonna come off it’s so loud in there,” said McCall, a former Florida assistant. “Anytime you’re able to go in there and beat an SEC team (is impressive).”
The Spiders are ranked 19th, while Saint Louis is receiving votes in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.
“The A-10 is back,” McCall said. “Our league is deep, it’s balanced. God willing we get these games played, they’re going to be close games, tight games.”
BACK IN BLACK — A black, alternate jersey will be in the Minutemen’s rotation this season. Sophomore center Tre Mitchell asked Bamford about the possibility on Twitter in April. It seems the preseseason all-conference pick will get his wish.
“You’ll see ‘em at some point. I don’t know what game,” McCall said. “In terms of the black jerseys, what game those come out, we’ll see what game those guys want to wear them.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.