‘Basketball will overcome anything’: How Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova handled a tough year

The Wildcats have dealt with frustrations during the pandemic, including a long pause in December and January, but Robinson-Earl said their love of basketball and each other got them through it.

Villanova head coach Jay Wright talks with forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (24) during the first half of the Wildcats' game against Seton Hall on Jan. 19. Robinson-Earl said that his team's love for basketball helped it get through the challenges of the pandemic.Read moreLaurence Kesterson / AP

by Joe Juliano

Published March 17, 2021, 3:06 p.m. ET

College basketball players needed to go through a lot to successfully compete in the 2020-21 season, dealing with sacrifices and frustrations and bouts of loneliness and, in Villanova’s case, having to go through back-to-back quarantines right after Christmas that kept them isolated in hotel rooms.

For Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, one thought always got him through the difficult times.

“I just love the game of basketball. Basketball will overcome anything,” the Wildcats’ sophomore forward said Wednesday in a Zoom call with reporters. “So that’s why I was able to get through this season and stay mentally tough and strong, because the game of basketball has done so much for me and my life. Why would I give up on it just during a tough moment?”

Robinson-Earl, the Big East co-player of the year and a third-team Sporting News All-America, admitted there were some struggles during the season that went unseen when the Wildcats were together.

“When we’re around each other, we can keep our energy up, keep us going and be there for each other,” he said. “But sometimes when you’re just sitting in your room — I know it happens to everybody — that you can’t see your family, you can’t see your girlfriend or any friends that you would want to just hang out with and talk to ...

“So I think for anybody that had to go through this, it had to be tough. And if it wasn’t, then you’re really a mental beast. It was for sure an interesting year. Nobody’s ever gone through this, so there should be no expectations on anybody being able to attack this at their fullest every single day because it’s so unique and different.”

The Wildcats, who are in the NCAA Tournament bubble in Indianapolis awaiting their first-round matchup against Winthrop on Friday night, began the season in a similar environment. They played their first four games at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, spending more than a week there before returning home and creating their own campus bubble.

In the postseason, they remained in the Big East Tournament’s hotel in New York after their loss last Thursday to Georgetown in the first round. They left Monday for Indianapolis and went through testing before they received the all-clear to practice Tuesday night.

Coach Jay Wright has spoken from the beginning about how much he and his staff were focused on the mental health of their players. He told them that while “team first” is the hallmark of the program, this season would be about the individual, “your mental health, your personal growth and development,” he said.

Wright said probably the most difficult part of the season came after he tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 26. The team ended its quarantine and held a practice Jan. 3 before having to return to quarantine after two players tested positive.

“The players were in a hotel for 10 days in December,” he said. “We practiced one day and then two guys tested positive and we had to have the players go back into the hotel. That might have been the most difficult discussion I’ve ever had with the team.

“You question it then and we always gave them the option, ‘If you want to get out, if you want to go home, we get it, we support you, you’re not letting the team down.’ And it’s incredible how these guys have persevered. It’s truly a testament to their love for the game and their mental toughness.”

Robinson-Earl said the team is doing its best to stay engaged, whether it’s meetings or practice, but then struggles to find things to do when he and his teammates return to the hotel.

“You find things to do, even if it’s watching a show or playing video games or just anything to get your minds off of it because it’s tough,” he said. “It’s tough for everybody.

“I think we did great job throughout this year, and now we’ve put in all that work and all that mental drain at times. It might get to us more than other days. But I feel like it’s just all worth it now. Now being in Indy and playing in the tournament, we’re ready to go after it now.”

And while it’s been a difficult year, the Wildcats were happy to have gone through it.

“I think definitely it is a mentally rough year,” Robinson-Earl said, “but we definitely love the game way too much, Villanova basketball, playing for the coaches, and we just love playing for each other too much to give that up.”