What to look for in the JHS basketball season

On January 2, about a month later than usual, Jefferson High School’s basketball teams will host Choteau High’s Bulldogs for the first games of the 2020-21 campaign.

Unless, of course, they don’t: One lesson from the early going in college basketball this fall has been that the season may well play out in fits and starts, subject to last-minute cancellations and scheduling contortions as the COVID-19 virus wends its way into gyms and locker rooms.

That prospect can be disconcerting. “It’s in the back of your mind,” says Sarah Layng, second-year coach of Jefferson’s girls’ team. “That’s the girls’ biggest stress. They’re nervous about everybody staying healthy and games getting cancelled.” (Last year’s state championships were called off suddenly, along with most everything else, as the pandemic emerged.)