The regular season was winding down and Northampton native Willy Workman, captain of the Maccabi Haifa Basketball Club in Israel, felt his team was in a position to make a postseason run.
The team was coming off a 107-85 win over Eilat on March 7, and practicing for its game against Hapoel Tel Aviv on March 15. Two days before tipoff, Maccabi Haifa coach Daniel Seoane pulled the team aside.
“The NBA had just suspended their season so we pretty much knew it was just a matter of time,” Workman wrote in an email.
The COVID-19 pandemic was forcing sports at all levels across the world to shut down. Israel’s Premier League was no exception. Maccabi Haifa was in fifth place at 11-10 in the Winner League, the top division.
While Seoane said the season was over, Workman and his teammates finished their workout.
“We decided to complete the practice,” Workman said. “We told the coach we just wanted to throw the ball up and play 5 on 5 for the last 45 minutes of practice. I think we all knew it probably wasn’t the best idea but there was also the sense that it might be the last time playing ball for a while. Nobody wanted to give it up.”
This was Workman’s sixth professional season since leading Amherst College to the 2013 NCAA Division III national championship. The Northampton High graduate and Deerfield Academy postgrad spent the 2014-15 season with Hapoel Tel Aviv, then the following season with Maccabi Ashdod. This is his fourth season with Maccabi Haifa.
His first year with Maccabi Haifa ended with a loss to Hapoel Jerusalem and Amar’e Stoudemire, while his second season ended with Maccabi Haifa being relegated to Liga Leumit, the second division of the Israel League.
“We had everything imaginable go wrong and dropped to the second division,” Workman said. “I had several offers from other clubs in the Winner League to stay in the first division. Instead I decided to stay loyal and stick with my club through the tough times. Fortunately we won the second division championship and were promoted back to where we belong.”
Workman was named captain for the first time during the 2019 season.
“Honestly, I’m more proud of that leadership than of any basketball achievement in my career,” said Workman, who was also a captain when Amherst College won its championship.
As in the past few seasons, Workman and Maccabi Haifa played several NBA teams during the preseason. Workman then appeared in 20 games for Maccabi Haifa during his regular season. He matched his career high of 7.6 points per game while shooting 53.9 percent from the floor. He also averaged 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Former Boston Celtics guard James Young, Workman’s teammate, led the league in scoring at 20.5 ppg.
Former UMass standout Tony Gaffney averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds for Ironi Nahariya (8-13).
“I was myself,” Workman said. “I think it’s safe to say I outperformed what others projected for me. Every year I have the same goal ‘exceed everyone’s expectations but my own.’”
Workman still lives in his apartment in Haifa, Israel’s third largest city, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He married Mary Anna Howell in the summer of 2019. He turned 30 the day after the season was suspended.
“I spent the whole day in my apartment with my wife feeling like I was going through a breakup,” Workman said. “A pretty sobering moment, to be honest. But I’ve bounced back to my normal optimistic self. Times are strange right now, but being optimistic is always the right frame of mind.”
The pandemic has affected Israel much like everywhere else. The country has been locked down with the exception of essential businesses and services.
“I’m doing a ton of yoga,” Workman said. “Watching the game films from this past season. Doing some scouting of the other teams/players around the league. FaceTiming my folks as much as possible … and playing a lot of FIFA on Xbox to be honest.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were almost 6,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Israel, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Workman has been monitoring the spread back home. As of Wednesday, there were almost 200,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States.
“Very concerned, obviously. I hope the current administration is finally starting to understand the seriousness of this reality,” Workman said. “My concerns are pretty much the same as they were three weeks ago. The health and safety of my friends, family … everyone, really.”