DENVER — They called it the "sick ball." It was Gonzaga coaches' method for quarantining sophomore forward Domantas Sabonis, who arrived in Denver for the NCAA tournament's opening weekend battling the flu: setting aside a separate ball for Sabonis's shootarounds, marking it with his jersey number, and instructing head student manager Tim Stoddard to wipe it down with Purell and keep it stored in a towel when it wasn't in use. As a future doctor who's heading to the University of Florida's medical school in the fall, Stoddard was skeptical of the sick ball's impact, especially since Sabonis still participated in five-on-five drills.
Best big man left in tourney has very familiar name.
