If the individual is asymptomatic after Sunday, Pastner said, he would be able to rejoin the group for the next round of games, should Tech advance that far.
“Nothing’s more important than your health, and thank the good Lord right now that the individual is asymptomatic, and we just want him to remain that way,” Pastner said. “But it’s a gut punch. It stinks.”
Indications would strongly point to the individual being a player. Among other clues, as Pastner spoke about the situation Tuesday, he spoke of the person not being able to participate in the games or practice. He also was about to begin referring to the person as “the young man,” a term he often uses when speaking of his players, before catching himself at “young m-” and then using the more generic “the person.”
Pastner confirmed to the AJC that freshman guard Tristan Maxwell was not with the team in Greensboro during the ACC Tournament. When asked if that was related to the COVID case, Pastner replied that it was not.
Pastner shared his confidence that the one positive result would not spread through the rest of the group, trusting in the protocols set up by the team.
“I feel confident that because of our mitigating and everything that we’ve done, we’ll be OK moving forward,” he said.
Pastner also said abnormalities were found in their postgame testing Saturday after Tech’s win in the ACC title game. Reading from a statement, he said “medical officials investigated the abnormalities thoroughly and our entire travel party was cleared to depart for Indianapolis” on Sunday.
Pastner added that, following the clearance, he still had two members of the travel party make the trip to Indianapolis separately from the rest of the group “just out of an abundance of caution, to be extra careful.”
Asked for more details about the abnormalities and the separate two-person travel group, Pastner referred back to his statement giving the overall narrative of the situation.
On Sunday, just before the team left the Grandover Resort hotel where it had stayed during the tournament, Pastner was asked in a videoconference with media if everyone on the roster was healthy. Pastner responded, “We’re good to go. We’ll fly to Indianapolis when this (interview session) is done.”
Asked Tuesday if it was his belief at the time that everyone was indeed healthy, Pastner referred again to his narrative regarding the investigation into the testing abnormalities and the team being cleared to travel.
It certainly changes the week for the Jackets, all of whom are experiencing the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Many have described it as a dream come true. It is Tech’s first trip to the tournament since 2010, and Jackets fans have thrilled to the team’s effort-filled style and strong finish, winning its past eight games and winning the ACC title for the first time since 1993. But, in that midst, the realities of the pandemic have intruded again.
“It was a tough situation,” senior guard Jose Alvarado said. “But we let Coach handle it, and we just keep our prayers for that individual and hopefully, he gets back as soon as possible. But we just gave faith to Coach and see what was going to go on. I’m just glad we get to get to play Friday and that individual is healthy.”
Credit: Georgia Tech Athletics
Georgia Tech basketball coach Josh Pastner explains the team’s mitigating efforts when it discovered it had a positive COVID test among its travel party to Indy
Credit: Georgia Tech Athletics
