On Thursday, University of Houston men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson revealed that the entire roster – 15 players – at one time or another tested positive for coronavirus including members of his coaching staff.
As reported by The Washington Post, over one-third of his team returned to practice from Tuesday to Thursday after a recent outbreak of positive cases stalled basketball workouts on Dec. 8.
Sampson, 65, remained at home and hasn’t been present for a game since Dec. 5 after coming in contact with his son and assistant coach Kellen Sampson, who tested positive for coronavirus.
He said that he’s hopeful for additional players returning in time for a scheduled Sunday game between the Cougars and Alcorn State.
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“The benefit is just try to get some rhythm going into conference play,” Sampson told The Washington Post. “The guys that are healthy are healthy, there’s no reason why they can’t play. Most of them have already tested positive, they’ve gone through isolation, and they’ve passed all the tests and then they’ve had consecutive negative tests after that.”
Sampson further said that athletes took myocarditis tests on Friday, as health experts have expressed concerns that COVID-19 affects the heart and has acknowledged the potential lack of fitness due to them quarantining and resting.
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“The guys that have been out for 10 days, they’re out of shape, it’s simple as that,” he said. “It’ll take a while, but that’s why this year is what it is. There’s nothing you can do about it. When you’re isolated in your room, I don’t know what you can do to stay in shape.”
In August, USA Today reported on that concern across the sports world, noting the results of The Journal of the American Medical Association study found that 100 patients who recovered that the heart showed “cardiac involvement” in 78 percent of patients. Sixty percent had “ongoing myocardial inflammation” among patients.
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