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PROVO — When the NCAA announced in the fall that all college football players, regardless of playing time or situation, would get a free year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it sparked rounds of speculation.
Would Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence return for another season with the top-ranked Tigers? Probably not. What about Alabama's Mac Jones, a redshirt junior who has seen his own draft stock rise as the Tide rolled to a 4-0 start?
Locally, could Zach Wilson return for another shot at his junior season, or would the Corner Canyon product ride a wave of NFL draft hype and way-too-early Heisman buzz to declare for the NFL draft next April?
In college basketball, even though the nation's governing body of collegiate athletics instituted the same free-year waiver for the 2020-21 season, the response has been much more tepid.
Most players, it seems, have been more likely to play this season and then depart for professional pastures. That includes BYU graduate transfers Matt Haarms and Brandon Averette.
Of course, that doesn't mean the free year isn't an exciting — and tempting — possibility.
"I think it's a great decision," said Haarms, a 7-foot-3 center who graduated from Purdue with a degree in political science in the spring. "I'm always really happy to see pro-student-athlete decision by the NCAA. I'm happy for a lot of guys who don't feel comfortable stepping on the court."
But then he took a step back with an addendum.
"For me, I don't think it matters," Haarms added. "I'm going to be 24 at the end of the year. I'm treating this like my one year … just like any old grad transfer."
The same goes for Brandon Averette. The Utah Valley transfer followed his old coach Mark Pope from Orem after finishing a degree in university studies. And though he left the door open to a potential return in 2021-22, he also cautioned fans not to expect such an outcome.
Averette, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Richardson, Texas, already transferred once after two seasons at Oklahoma State. So sticking around for what would be a sixth year of college basketball is unlikely — unless something goes wrong.
"I'm kind of in the same boat as Matt; I'm looking at it as my last year," Averette said after Thursday's practice. "If something happens and I have to come back, I will. But right now, I'm focused on this being my senior year and my last go-around."
The two grad transfers make up two of BYU's three-man senior class in 2020-21, joining former Arizona guard Alex Barcello. The Chandler, Arizona, native hasn't firmly committed to coming back for another season, but all three prefer to focus on the current season that is to come and leading a squad coming off a top-20 national ranking.
They'll be needed, too. Beyond the three seniors, BYU's six juniors include just three players who have been in Provo their whole career in Kolby Lee, Connor Harding and Gavin Baxter. The others are Gonzaga transfer Jesse Wade, UVU transfer Richard Harward and junior college transfer Gideon George.
"Being a fifth-year senior, it feels weird at times, to be the older guy," Averette admitted. "But I just want to help these guys, and just lead them. My biggest goal this year is to be the best leader in the nation.
"If I'm able to help guys get better and to buy in, I feel like I've done my part."
With all that said, not much has gone right during the era of COVID-19 — both at BYU and nationally. The Cougars had their best season in recent memory cut short by the novel coronavirus, which canceled the NCAA Tournament and the spring sports season.
It's bled into the 2020-21 season, as well, with schedules and multi-team events still being pieced together. The Cougars are currently scheduled to open the season Nov. 28 against cross-county rival Utah Valley, but the Wolverines also have an opening night tip Nov. 25 with Stanford — and it's assumed that BYU will add to its schedule, as well.
Pope likes to say the Cougars are "just one domino away" from completing the schedule. But that domino keeps shifting, too.
"We're really hopeful. Just based on the history of the last 4-5 months, in every sport minus the NBA, we have every expectation that there will be hiccups and sideways things. But it seems like everybody is really committed to push forward with whatever we can make of this season, and to push forward to make whatever of this season we can.
"I am hopeful that we are going to have some significant season, but I would also be surprised if we didn't have some hiccups this season," Pope said, adding that COVID-19 protocols have changed how practices look, with mask requirements in gyms and an increased attention to hand washing and sanitizing. "Our guys are wearing masks, not during practice but through warmups and that stuff. We're washing our hands multiple times during practice, and trying to take every precaution that we possibly can."
Eventually, the Cougars will get to the season — so, too, will the rest of college basketball.
But what that season looks like — and whether it will be the final stanza for any, most or all of the current senior class — is anybody's guess.
"We're hoping for several (Power Six teams on the schedule), but everything is moving so fast," Pope said. "We're still waiting to see what some conference schedules look like; that will help a lot.
"What moves the needle for us is when we play top-ranked teams. We're trying to get as many of those teams as we can."
