Gold ball chasing in Kingfisher County was just put on hold.

For how long remains the mystery.

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association announced late Thursday morning that it was postponing all of its activities until further notice.

That included the state basketball tournaments for Classes 2A-6A that were scheduled to be played this weekend in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The Cashion boys team was set to play Hooker at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Yukon in Class 2A. Kingfisher’s boys were in the Class 4A bracket and set to face Classen SAS at Deer Creek High School on Thursday evening.

However, due to health concerns that have swept across the globe surrounding COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus, those games as well as all music and speech contests hosted by the OSSAA have been put on hold.

“In light of recent information we have received across the state and the health concerns that we have, we have decided to postpone all OSSAA-sponsored activities for this weekend,” OSSAA Executive Director David Jackson said during a press conference early Thursday afternoon.

“We haven’t decided when those activities will be rescheduled. We’ll work on that as soon as we can.”

Kingfisher coaches were already in Oklahoma City preparing to scout 4A games ahead of their own when the news broke.

“I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet that we don’t get to play this weekend,” KHS boys’ coach Jared Reese said.

As for how his team reacted, Reese said there was still a lot of unknown.

“We didn’t have much to tell them, because we don’t know right now,” he said. “But you could tell they were worried.”

John Hardaway was set to coach a Cashion program making its first state tournament appearance since 1996.

Despite the disappointment, Hardaway was understanding.

“At the end of the day, this is nothing we can control,” he said. “These are decisions being made by people in a tough spot.”

The announcement was the culmination of several days of speculation, the intensity of which ramped up beginning Wednesday night when Oklahoma City became the epicenter of the coronavirus world in relation to sports.

The NBA postponed Wednesday’s game that saw the Utah Jazz slated to visit Oklahoma City when it was determined at least one Jazz player - Rudy Gobert - had tested positive for the virus.

Both teams were quarantined for several hours at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

Soon after, the NBA indefinitely postponed its season.

It was later discovered one other Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, tested positive for the virus after everyone associated with the team was tested.

At that time, the OSSAA was still determined to host its state tournament games.

Classes 2A, 3A and 4A were being played at multiple sites in Oklahoma City while 5A and 6A schools were doing the same in the Tulsa area.

However, news began to break Thursday morning that Mitchell had taken part in a private workout at Del City High School on Wednesday.

He interacted with several Del City students and staff, including the entire boys basketball team, which was set to play in the 5A state tournament.

Del City head coach Lenny Hatchett even posted a picture on social media of Mitchell with Hatchett’s young son.

Already addressing concerns from several member schools across the state, those facts shaped a hectic few hours for the OSSAA.

“This has been changing seemingly by the minute,” Jackson said. “When it was discovered Donovan Mitchell tested positive, we were immediately in contact with Del City officials as well as state health officials to get the exact information regarding that and when it was determined that he did test positive and that he did have contact with some students there at Del City, that absolutely had a lot to do with this decision.”

Jackson said OSSAA officials did consider only postponing the 5A portion of the tournament, or even 5A and 6A, while still playing games in Oklahoma City.

“That was a consideration. If we isolated those students we felt like had contact that maybe we could go forward with the rest of the tournament,” Jackson said. “But as we again gained information, the possibility of contact with other people that may even be here in the City from the Del City scenario just blossomed, so we just felt like we can’t take that chance.”

The news came the same day most conferences cancelled what remained of their basketball tournaments.

Later Thursday, the NCAA announced it had not only cancelled all winter championships - which includes the men’s and women’s Final 4 - but also those for the spring.

That would include the Women’s College World Series held annually in Oklahoma City.

Cecilia Robinson-Woods, the superintendent of Millwood Public Schools, and Dr. Mike Simpson, superintendent of Guthrie Public Schools, joined Jackson at the podium during the press conference.

Robinson-Woods is the president of the OSSAA board of directors and Simpson the vice president.

Both said the feedback they had received from member schools about potentially calling off activities were “mixed.”

However, Simpson added: “We don’t really know what we’re dealing with. When you’re in that situation the best thing when you’re dealing with young people or anyone is to err on the side of caution and that’s why we definitely support Mr. Jackson’s efforts today.”

The question now is: When will the games be played…Or, will they be played?

Kingfisher Supt. Jason Sternberger had no answer.

“None of us have ever seen anything like this before,” he said. “It’s moving so fast it’s beyond anyone’s control.”

Rescheduling the state basketball tournaments brings several other factors into play.

First of all, State Fair Arena won’t necessarily be available for use.

The Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE), which, as of press time was still scheduled, leases the facility once state basketball tournaments end.

After that, other events, planned months in advance, will be held in the building.

In fact, once the announcement was made by the OSSAA, which included that none of its events would be scheduled during Spring Break (March 15-22), arena staff members began disassembling the basketball court Thursday.

Spring sports have already begun at schools across the state. Delaying basketball will further affect the likes of baseball, soccer, tennis, track and slowpitch softball for schools in the state tournament, more so than they already have.

“It will be a mess ,” Sternberger said.

There is also widespread speculation the state Department of Education could mandate extended Spring Break for state schools. If that came to fruition, it would further delay basketball playoffs.

All that plus limited options for facilities - especially since most state colleges are closing their campuses and going with online classes only - leads to the possibility of eventually cancelling the playoffs.

Hardaway doesn’t see that as an option.

“There’s no way they’re not going to play it,” he said. “When? I don’t know and it’s probably not going to be under ideal conditions.

“The good thing is nobody has an advantage because we’re all in the same boat. I can just tell you when they play, the ‘Cats will be there.”

In the meantime, he’s playing the waiting game.

Games definitely won’t be played this week, so Hardaway told his team to approach this “like the Christmas break.”

“We’re going to take the week off and we’ll just wait it out until we hear something definitive from the OSSAA,” he said.

Reese told his team to “be ready.”

“I told them we’d know more tomorrow and the day after that,” he said. “But I told them to just be ready to practice, to play or whatever.”

The thought of not getting to play had crept into Reese’s mind.

He’s got KHS in the state tournament a fourth consecutive year.

The Jackets are the defending Class 4A state champs, have a 26-1 record and are ranked No. 1.

“It would be devastating to not get to play,” he said. “The kids work a long time to get to do something like this…to have a chance to repeat and be the No. 1 team.

“This is all just wild right now.”

Sternberger agreed.

“I really feel bad for all the kids affected by this because nobody knows when they’ll be able to make it up,” he said.