Michigan Basketball: How the Wolverines can return to practice

 After a long hiatus, Michigan basketball can return to strength and conditioning workouts with restrictions.

The last time a Michigan basketball team took to the court, the coronavirus was in its infancy in the United States. U-M was warming up, getting ready to take on Rutgers in a Big Ten Conference game. It was minutes before noon, and the contest was called.

Since then, players have graduated and moved on, and others remain in limbo, waiting for the NBA combine to determine their future.

Now, after months of lockdown, the Michigan basketball team can return for voluntary summer workouts.

“We are pleased to start the process of welcoming student-athletes back to our campus through a medical and public health-informed protocol and plan,” said Warde Manuel, the Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics. “We continue to take the utmost care to ensure that all student-athletes and staff return to a safe and healthy environment.”

More from GBMWolverine

• 3 things to watch for Michigan football vs. Rutgers
• Michigan football vs. Rutgers: Prediction, Odds, Spread and Over/Under for College Football Week 4
• Michigan Wolverines news: Jim Harbaugh wants J.J. McCarthy ‘gunslinging’, plus a drop in recruiting rankings
• Grades, game balls for Michigan football vs. Bowling Green
• Michigan Wolverines news: Jake Moody is money in the NFL, plus more

There are restrictions, of course. You can’t just walk into the weight room and begin a workout. With a virus of this magnitude, protocols will be mandatory to ensure the health and safety of the student-athletes as well as the entire student body.

Strict health checks will be performed prior to any organized activities to ensure no one is infected.

“Our protocols and plans have been developed by medical experts from across U-M’s campus, who have collaborated with officials at the local, state, and national levels,” Warde said in the university release. “I appreciate the contributions and comprehensive efforts across so many groups and in coordination with the Big Ten Conference and peers across the NCAA.”

Obviously, this plan isn’t exclusive to the basketball team. The workouts apply to both the men’s and women’s hoops squads and the football team. All three sports can begin workouts as of yesterday, June 15th, as long as they pass the thorough steps Michigan outlined in the press release:

"“Included in the resocialization period are comprehensive health and welfare assessments consisting of COVID-19 and antibody testing, team physicals, concussion baseline testing and assessment, sleep surveys, sport-appropriate fitness testing, mobility screening, body composition, nutrition evaluations and regular medical testing.”"

It doesn’t stop there. Daily checks are included, which will form the future of athletics. These are the beginning stages, and the tweaks will come as we move closer to the fall and the colder sports take hold.

The communications department noted: “The second phase of returning student-athletes to U-M’s campus includes sports that compete in the fall: men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, and volleyball. Those programs will report to campus following the successful reintroduction to the campus community of phase one student-athletes.”

There are procedures in place in the event someone tests positive, which is only described as quarantine. But questions remain as to the possibility of canceling matchups should someone test positive on game day, or how long the athletes will have to sit out in the case of a positive test. Generally, the public is advised 14 days.

As to potential attendance at games, there still isn’t any news on that front. Some athletic directors have said they expect 20-40% capacity in stadiums.

In other news

Michigan is back on the recruiting trail and is in constant communication with several key recruits from the 2022 class, including a few five-stars. You can read about that here and here.

You can also ready about Michigan football commit J.J. McCarthy and his unbridled hate for Ohio State and the message he attempted to put on his customized cleats here.