Championship Productions, a company that produces and distributes videos featuring famous coaches and athletes, recently filmed a Sinclair Community College men’s basketball practice to study the tactics of coach Jeff Price.
Championship Productions has in the past featured famous coaches like Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Kansas’ Bill Self, Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun and the retired Bobby Knight.
Price believes the video will bring exposure to the relatively unknown Sinclair program. Because of the size of the nearby University of Dayton, the program is somewhat overshadowed, according to Price.
“It’s good for the program,” Price said. “Helps give us credibility.”
Championship Productions got in touch with Price and offered to do a video with him. The planning started a year ago, and Price said he’s been in contact with the company for years, often sitting in during the filming of other coaches videos.
“They’ve known me,” Price said.
Price preaches a transition offense, known for it’s fast-breaking plays, often coming after a missed free throw or jump shot by the opposition. He said the offense has formed over the course of his 20 years of experience.
That experience saw Price rub elbows with current New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni while at Marshall University. During D’Antoni’s tenure with the Phoenix Suns, the transition offense came back into fame. The original designer of the offense is Cam Henderson, who coached at Marshall from 1935-55.
Price said he spends time watching films from other coaches and trying to learn new things. Something he said all coaches do, and has helped him mold his offense into what is now, is the CASE method.
“Copy and steal everything,” Price said. “We want [to be on] the cutting edge. We have to keep learning.”
The offense should be instinctual for his point guards, Price said. He doesn’t want to hear anyone yell ‘set it up’ on the court, he wants his players to have already done that and be in position to make a play.
“They talk on the floor,” Price said. “They’ll make those decisions. We always say, we want basketball players to make basketball plays.”
Knowing when to pass and when to shoot is also key.
“Don’t take the shot you want,” Price said. “Take the shot you can make.”
The defense Price wants to use should set up the offense. He said the team plays aggressive, attacking defense, with the goal of forcing a turnover or forcing the opposition into a bad shot.
“That’s part of the scouting report, identifying the non-shooters,” Price said. “The ball will find the worst shooter.”
The tough defense leads to the breakaway plays that Price said he wants.
“Our defense has to feed our offense,” Price said. “Our players will buy in and play hard defense because they know if they do, they can make plays on the other end.”
The practices Price runs are meant to be challenging, he said. He wants to simulate crunch-time environments for his players.
Competition is also key in practice. The team participates in free throw tournaments, where the losers have to run wind sprints. Those who lose in the opening round of the tournament are forced to run after every round finishes, and every subsequent loser in a following round will also run until there is a winner.
“Round one is really important,” Price said.
The coaches keep track of every free throw taken. The team has shot nearly 4,400 free throws through the Oct. 14 practice, and the team as a whole is making 73 percent of them.
Those hard practices and the depth Price is working with makes him excited about the upcoming year.
“We have a very high basketball IQ this year,” Price said.
Price said he thinks his practices are the key to his team’s success. The team has won 73 percent of its games in his tenure, and for every game that is decided in the last three possessions or less, Sinclair wins every two out of three.