By RICHIE HALL
The IHSAA announced on Thursday that the boys basketball tournament was officially canceled.
The tournament had been on hold since last week, when the regional rounds were indefinitely postponed. Sporting events across the country were being canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the IHSAA had been hopeful that the boys basketball tournament could be played.
But after Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb issued his directive on Thursday closing all schools across the state until May 1, it became clear that the tournament would not be finished.
“It is with great sadness and disappointment that we inform Hoosiers of the cancellation of the remaining games of the 2020 IHSAA boys basketball tournament series,” said IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox. “While the Association maintained every hope of continuance, it is now evident those hopes are now unreachable.” Cox also said that the health and safety “of our public remains paramount and our primary focus.”
Carmel was to have played in the Logansport regional, but is one of the 64 teams across the four classes that saw its season come to an end with the announcement. Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn said he was disappointed for his team, including Jackson Jannsen, Carmel’s only senior.
“From a big picture perspective, you get it,” said Osborn. “From a basketball perspective, it hurts.”
The IHSAA’s boys basketball tournament was first played in 1911. The tournament had been contested every year since then through 2019 – even during the two World Wars, when many other sporting events were put on pause.
“That’s crazy,” said Osborn. “It tells you what we’re dealing with right now. “I thought Bobby Cox and his staff did an amazing job trying to hang in there. It just got to the point where it couldn’t logistically work.”
So, Carmel’s season officially finishes with an 18-7 record. The Greyhounds won their sixth consecutive sectional championship before the tournament was postponed-then-canceled, with Osborn noting that his team was young and inexperienced at the start of the year.
“Our message all year was just get better,” said Osborn. He said the team wanted to be playing its best in March, and he felt Carmel did that.
“And to get to this point and to see it all end abruptly is kind of a whirlwind,” said Osborn. “It’s hard to digest, I guess. Big picture, I get it. For the boys, you feel for them.”
Carmel senior Jackson Jannsen helped the Greyhounds to a sectional championship two weeks ago. Carmel was to play in the Logansport regional, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (Kent Graham/File photo)