Finally back in the gym, Cody Martin hopes Hornets allowed to resume season
Before the Charlotte Hornets practice gym reopened Tuesday, rookie Cody Martin was scrounging for any place to stay sharp.
He’d occasionally talk someone into letting him use a high school gym. But mostly it was playground courts, and even that was a challenge with many towns disabling basketball goals to prevent pickup games during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was going park-to-park, looking for someplace to shoot,” said Martin during a Friday conference call with media. “A lot of the time, I would just be weightlifting at home.
“I would run near the mall outside, try to get conditioning or do footwork and agility things in a parking lot. Really going back to the old days, before I got to college.”
It’s better now, but certainly not back to normal. The Hornets are allowing players to use the practice gym at Spectrum Center, but with heavy restrictions to guard against infection risk.
Only four players are allowed in at a time. Temperatures are checked before players enter the building. There is no sharing of balls or other equipment without sanitizing between uses. A limited number of staff wear masks and gloves while working with players.
What next?
While players are using the Hornets practice gym, there is uncertainty what comes next. The NBA is working toward when and how to restart the season, with a decision anticipated next week. The league could resume (likely at the end of July in the Orlando area) with anything from all 30 teams playing regular-season games to going straight to a 16-team playoff.
The Hornets were 23-42 and 10th in the Eastern Conference when the NBA suspended the season March 11, so whether their season is over is subject to what system the owners choose to complete the season.
They could be included in some sort of play-in tournament for teams on the fringe of the playoffs. They could have to wait until the start of the 2020-21 season, which might not start before late December, before playing again.
Wants to play
“I want to be able to play — for us to get back in the gym and have a concrete routine every single day,” said Martin, who was the first Hornet off the bench when the season was interrupted, averaging 31 minutes in Charlotte’s last five games.
Until the owners agree to a plan, Hornets coaches don’t know what direction to take: Whether to focus on conditioning in preparation for a June training camp or to begin off-season refinement of skills.
“We’re all trying to figure out how to do this because this is all an unknown,” Martin said. “I’m just glad we’re able to get back in here. It gives me some hope that things are going to be good and we can get back” to improving.
Working out at the practice gym is totally voluntary. Martin said he has no misgivings about being there during the pandemic.
“I feel nothing but safe while I’m here,” Martin said.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Finally back in the gym, Cody Martin hopes Hornets allowed to resume season."
