The Return? Basketball Is Back In New York... For Some

*** THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED ON A COUNTY-BY-COUNTY BASIS AS TIME ALLOWS ***

The news heard around the state for high school athletics enthusiasts: there's at least hope for some semblance of a winter season.

Well, that will depend on decisions made at the local level. This isn't new info to anyone that's been paying attention, but with Governor Cuomo's announcement last week, the onus has essentially been passed to county health departments to either approve or deny the start of 'high risk' winter sports - including basketball - on February 1. Of course, individual school districts also have the option to opt out of competing even if their county approves going forward.

Early 'yes' responses from individual counties have mainly come in region clusters, with Long Island (Sections 8 & 11) & the Hudson Valley (Sections 1 & 9) all in. Also, an increasing percentage of counties west of the I-81 corridor have approved the February 1 start date in the days directly following the updated guidance.

To those that are nuts like me and care about what's going on throughout the state on the girls' basketball tip, hopefully this will be of use. A much more comprehensive look as to where we stand at this point:

(NOTE: I have only included counties that I've seen make official statements from their county health departments. There has been plenty of speculation from many counties and advocates/politicians coming out in support, but only those where county DOHs have made February 1 approval/denial statements are currently included - if I have missed any, please pass along a link!)

The Horseheads fieldhouse, pictured from an open gym in October 2019. Horseheads, a perennial Section 4 Class AA contender, is located in Chemung County - 1 of the 38 NY counties currently set to start February 1.

The following counties have given the go-ahead for high school basketball to start on February 1, pending individual school districts' approval:

• Allegany County (Section 5)
• Broome County (Section 4)
• Cattaraugus County (Section 6)
• Cayuga County (Sections 3 & 4)
• Chautauqua County (Section 6)
• Chemung County (Section 4)
• Cortland County (Sections 3 & 4)
• Dutchess County (Sections 1 & 9)
• Erie County (Section 6)
• Essex County (Section 7)
• Genesee County (Section 5)
• Lewis County (Sections 3 & 10) (only for in-county play)
• Livingston County (Section 5)
• Madison County (Section 3)
• Monroe County (Section 5)
• Montgomery County (Section 2) (only for in-county play)
• Nassau County (Section 8)
• Niagara County (Section 6)
• Onondaga County (Section 3)
• Ontario County (Section 5)
• Orange County (Section 9)
• Orleans County (Sections 5 & 6)
• Oswego County (Section 3)
• Putnam County (Section 1)
• Rensselaer County (Section 2)
• Rockland County (Section 1)
• Schuyler County (Section 4)
• Seneca County (Section 5)
• Steuben County (Sections 4 & 5)
• Suffolk County (Section 11)
• Sullivan County (Section 9)
• Tioga County (Section 4)
• Tompkins County (Section 4)
• Ulster County (Section 9)
• Wayne County (Section 5)
• Westchester County (Section 1)
• Wyoming County (Section 5)
• Yates County (Section 5)

Although no counties have denied the opportunity to compete in winter sports altogether, there are some that have denied a February 1 start and delayed 'indefinitely' until certain metrics are reached. Nearly all of those counties will require a 4% or less positivity rate (7-day rolling average) within the county, which is the hang-up involved. To put in perspective, this is a metric that as of January 29, only 10 of New York's 62 counties reach. The counties that have announced a February 1 denial include:

• Albany County (Section 2)
• Clinton County (Section 7)
• Columbia County (Section 2)
• Delaware County (Section 4)
• Fulton County (Section 2)
• Greene County (Sections 2 & 4)
• Herkimer County (Section 3)
• Saratoga County (Section 2)
• Schenectady County (Section 2)
• Schoharie County (Sections 2 & 4)
• Warren County (Section 2 & 7)
• Washington County (Section 2)

As time goes on, there will more than likely be a number of schools that opt out of winter competition regardless of their home county's decision. To this point, I've only seen a couple make official statements opting out. Those schools are:

• Glens Falls (Section 2, Warren County)
• Port Byron (Section 3, Cayuga County)

Last but not least, there's also been a blanket decision from an entire league to opt out of winter sports competition:

• Delaware League (Section 4 - Davenport, Downsville, Gilboa-Conesville, Hunter-Tannersville, Jefferson, Margaretville, Roxbury, Stamford, South Kortright, Windham-Ashland-Jewett)

Since this is meant to be an easy-to-read, comprehensive statewide reference point for psychos like myself that have a vested interest in hoops across the state, if there are any updates or anything I've missed, please feel free to let me know... it's for all of us! Hoping for the best for as many as possible that are in currently undecided counties, and I hope to see you all on the court soon!