After COVID-19 Protocol Violation, Tabbs Out for Remainder of Season
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Boston College men’s basketball is 3-13 and just fired its head coach and lost one of its best scorers on the same day. Less than seven hours after Jim Christian was dismissed, the team announced Monday night that redshirt sophomore guard Wynston Tabbs will sit out the remainder of the 2020-21 season due to a violation of university COVID-19 protocols.
Because of COVID-19 complications within the program, the Eagles missed four games (Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Louisville) from Jan. 20-30. Then, a Florida State positive test resulted in the Eagles’ fifth straight postponement. The two and a half week hiatus ended on Feb. 2, but Tabbs has missed the Eagles’ first three games back. He hasn’t played since BC’s 80-70 defeat at Notre Dame on Jan. 16.
Tabbs appeared in 12 contests this year, averaging 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per outing. His best performances—24 points against Minnesota (Dec. 8), 23 points against St. John’s (Nov. 30), and 18 points against North Carolina State (Dec. 30) all occurred in losses decided by five or fewer points.
The Suitland, Maryland, native worked his way back to the court this year after recovering from a pair of surgeries on his left knee. The first operation cut his impressive freshman campaign short, and the second sidelined him for the entire 2019-20 season.
Tabbs missed a total of 47 games in that span.
He burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2018-19. Tabbs overshadowed four-star recruit Jairus Hamilton, earning a spot in the season-opening starting rotation and sliding right in alongside Ky Bowman, in effect helping soften the blow of Jerome Robinson’s departure.
The dynamic guard scored 16 points in his collegiate debut and followed that performance up by averaging 20.2 points per game over the next five contests, en route to receiving ACC Rookie of the Week honors. He also sank a game-sealing 3-pointer against No. 11 Florida State, securing BC’s first ACC win and lone ranked victory of the season. His left knee injury threw a wrench in his ACC All-Freshman Team campaign and the Eagles’ season.
BC was 10-5 with Tabbs and 4-12 without the first-year guard, not to mention that Bowman’s efficiency plummeted without another primary ball handler in the backcourt.
This year, however, BC’s only ACC victory—an 82-64 win over Miami on Jan. 12—came without Tabbs in the lineup.
The specifics of his COVID-19 violation were not disclosed in the program’s statement Monday.
Andy Backstrom
Staff Writer
Boston College men’s basketball is 3-13 and just fired its head coach and lost one of its best scorers on the same day. Less than seven hours after Jim Christian was dismissed, the team announced Monday night that redshirt sophomore guard Wynston Tabbs will sit out the remainder of the 2020-21 season due to a violation of university COVID-19 protocols.
Because of COVID-19 complications within the program, the Eagles missed four games (Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Louisville) from Jan. 20-30. Then, a Florida State positive test resulted in the Eagles’ fifth straight postponement. The two and a half week hiatus ended on Feb. 2, but Tabbs has missed the Eagles’ first three games back. He hasn’t played since BC’s 80-70 defeat at Notre Dame on Jan. 16.
Tabbs appeared in 12 contests this year, averaging 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per outing. His best performances—24 points against Minnesota (Dec. 8), 23 points against St. John’s (Nov. 30), and 18 points against North Carolina State (Dec. 30) all occurred in losses decided by five or fewer points.
The Suitland, Maryland, native worked his way back to the court this year after recovering from a pair of surgeries on his left knee. The first operation cut his impressive freshman campaign short, and the second sidelined him for the entire 2019-20 season.
Tabbs missed a total of 47 games in that span.
He burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2018-19. Tabbs overshadowed four-star recruit Jairus Hamilton, earning a spot in the season-opening starting rotation and sliding right in alongside Ky Bowman, in effect helping soften the blow of Jerome Robinson’s departure.
The dynamic guard scored 16 points in his collegiate debut and followed that performance up by averaging 20.2 points per game over the next five contests, en route to receiving ACC Rookie of the Week honors. He also sank a game-sealing 3-pointer against No. 11 Florida State, securing BC’s first ACC win and lone ranked victory of the season. His left knee injury threw a wrench in his ACC All-Freshman Team campaign and the Eagles’ season.
BC was 10-5 with Tabbs and 4-12 without the first-year guard, not to mention that Bowman’s efficiency plummeted without another primary ball handler in the backcourt.
This year, however, BC’s only ACC victory—an 82-64 win over Miami on Jan. 12—came without Tabbs in the lineup.
The specifics of his COVID-19 violation were not disclosed in the program’s statement Monday.
