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Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few confirmed that one player has tested positive for COVID-19 and the school was following tournament protocols.
Few confirms one player tested positive. Added that GU has followed tournament protocols
— Jim Meehan (@SRJimm) November 27, 2020
It was a flurry of news right before tip-off, starting with Jim Meehan tweeting out that two players tested positive for COVID. The school immediately pushed back, saying that the players were in isolation after being in contact with a positive test and would not be playing. Dominick Harris’ father almost immediately invalidated Gonzaga’s response, adding to the confusion.
UPDATE: @ZagMBB will be without Dominick Harris per his father's tweet because "he was in close proximity with a player who tested positive." #UnitedWeZag pic.twitter.com/UdwvmDu4QQ
— Stadium (@Stadium) November 27, 2020
In the end, Meehan was halfway right with his original tweet. Notably, Julian Strawther was also not on the court, and most likely he is the player who tested positive. That said, the school has not confirmed that at the moment, so anything to this point is just informed conjecture.
What does this mean for the Zags going forward? It is a wait and see approach. For all of the talk about how safe the team was being, taking two planes, etc, the players were all on the court together yesterday in the game against Kansas. COVID takes a few days to show up after you get it, hence why the pandemic keeps on churning.
The Zags are flying from Florida to Indianapolis to face West Virginia on Wednesday and Baylor on Saturday. When in Indiana, they will work with different state/local health guidelines.