Gill heartbroken by NCAA season halt

JAMAICAN BASKETBALLER Romaro Gill had no way of knowing that his collegiate basketball career would come to such an abrupt end.

Last week, Gill, who was in his senior season for Seton Hall University, was supposed to compete in the Big East Championship, the final stop before the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in which the school was expected to obtain a high seed. The coronavirus pandemic was unmerciful to the American sports world which, up to Wednesday, March 11, saw all conference championships being played in empty arenas. However, the positive test of NBA player Rudy Gobert on that day caused a domino effect which led to the cancellation of all conference championships and, ultimately, the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

For the St Thomas native, it was a gut-wrenching conclusion to a college career that started in 2015.

“Little did we know that our final regular-season game would be our last college basketball game. Because we had the mindset just going into the tournament [to] give it our all,” Gill told The Gleaner. “We were super pumped up for the big tournament, too, and where we were going to get seeded. [For] everything to be put on pause, it’s just heartbreaking.”

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER

Gill was coming off a regular season that saw him being named the conference’s Defensive Player and Most Improved Player of the Year. Although there have been calls for seniors to have an additional year of eligibility for next season, Gill said it would be a hard sell because of their pursuit of professional basketball.

“I heard that they were granting us eligibility [again], but a lot of us don’t want that, because all the work that I have been putting in this season wasn’t to go back to college, it was to go and play professionally,” he said. “Having that cut short kind of puts you on edge for a little bit, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to think positively.”

The World Health Organization says the US has recorded over 15,000 cases to date, and Gill says he is doing his part to safeguard himself. He is back on campus, in New Jersey, where restrictions have been placed to control the spread of the virus. He has kept in touch with his family back home, where his mother providing encouragement.

“She said just keep your head up and continue to pray,” he said. “Everything will be fine. She is good, and as long as they’re good, I’m good.”

As he begins an earlier-than-expected preparation for the professional circuit, he is grateful to have been able to bring a spark back to the Seton Hall community. “[People have told me] they haven’t seen this arena so packed for years,” he said. “And for us to bring back that atmosphere, you feel honoured, and you just feel happy to be a part of that movement.”