This is not the start that Mo Williams had in mind for his first coaching season. Then again, little has gone to plan in the last year.
Alabama State announced that new head coach Mo Williams will not be on the sidelines Monday night when it hosts Jackson State.
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Upon returning from the holiday break and in accordance with standard University and Athletic Department Covid-19 testing protocols, coach Williams received a positive result. Since the test date, Williams has followed the University’s isolation protocols.
The first-year head coach has not been in physical contact with players or his staff since the University closed for the holidays on December 16, 2020.
Associate Head Coach Trey Johnson will serve as acting head coach against Jackson State.
Alabama State ATHLETICS
The SWAC’s opening week of competition saw its share of COVID-related postponements.
Mo Williams not alone as NCCU to pause
North Carolina Central is on pause due to a positive COVID-19 test. It will miss two double-headers. It was set to travel to Tallahassee to face FAMU on Jan. 9-10 and host South Carolina State on Jan. 16-17.
NCCU, the regular-season champions of the MEAC last season, has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. The program had a positive test prior to its opener against Iowa. After playing its first two games, it lost games to Wofford and USC-Upstate and Vanderbilt. It last played against the University of North Carolina on Dec. 12 before having its Dec. 15 game against Charleston Southern postponed.
There will, however, be two nationally-televised matchups of HBCU basketball tonight. Hampton will take on Radford at 7PM on ESPN. That game will be followed by Alabama State’s matchup against Jackson State.