Even if that does happen, the Cards figure to be far from full strength.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
With Chris Mack dealing with Covid-19, assistant coach Dino Gaudio handled his bosses’ responsibilities on Monday’s ACC coaches teleconference.
Gaudio, who will serve as Louisville’s acting head coach if the Cards are able to return to the court against Virginia Tech on Saturday, said that the team hasn’t practiced since last Tuesday and is hopeful to be back inside the Kueber Center on Wednesday. Even if that happens, U of L figures to be extremely shorthanded.
“Hopefully today we get a clean return on all the tests and we have no positives,” Gaudio said. “If that’s the case I believe we can practice on Wednesday, that’s not 100% certain, I’ve got to wait until our trainer, Fred Hina, and our medical staff says that we can do that, and we will not, even if we do practice on Wednesday have a full contingent of players. Can’t get into specifics but we have three that have tested positive and we have others that are in quarantine and we have others that are in quarantine with contact tracing.
“If we had to practice today, we wouldn’t have, I’m not sure we’d have six guys. We’re seeing how that plays out in the next 24, 36 hours. I watched a couple of guys shooting in the gym this morning. You can tell we’re not in great shape right now.”
Obviously, this casts some doubt on whether or not Saturday’s game against the Hokies will be played. If it isn’t, it’ll be the fourth U of L postponement since the Cards defeated Georgia Tech last Monday.
“I’m not sure (about Saturday),” Gaudio said. “Vince (Tyra) will make a decision, just see where we are and if that’s a possibility. Right now we’re preparing as if we’re going to play the game. That’s the way we’re looking at it.
Gaudio also confirmed the U of L press release from Sunday night which stated that Mack is currently dealing with “mild” symptoms.
“I talked to Chris last night. I called him on the drive in this morning to see how he was doing,” Gaudio said. “He didn’t answer. I don’t know whether he was sleeping or he wasn’t. For the most part he’s feeling pretty good. He just has mild symptoms.”
If Louisville does return to action on Saturday at Virginia Tech, that game is slated for a noon tip on the ACC Network.
