The Youngstown State women's basketball team is looking to keep things "as normal as possible" in the absence of coach John Barnes who took a leave of absence to tend to family matters.

'I'm go to check on him," said Executive Director of Athletics Ron Strollo, " He's going to be engaged with our student athletes."

There's no timetable for his return.

"The team knows that we have objectives and things we need to get covered," said Interim Head Coach John Nicolais, who served as an assistant under Barnes when he arrived in 2013.

"We want to do things right and try to move forward as best we can," concluded Nicolais.