At 20-0, 7-0 in the conference, the men’s basketball Tartan Pride are basically a lock to get into the tournament. NJCAA is different when it comes to deciding how teams get into district play. The institutions have more say in the process rather than the NCAA. As long as a team has over a .500 record, the institution can decide whether the team plays or not.
“It is up to the athletic directors and administrators of each school. If Clark State doesn’t want to send their team, and they have a .500 record, they can elect not to send them. They can say ‘we don’t feel that you are going to be competitive in district play’ and just save the money,” said Coach Price.
There are 16 districts in the country. The winner of each district will come together and play in a “Sweet 16” just like the NCAA does, except they start with 64 teams. There are eight teams in Sinclair’s district. For them to make it to the Sweet 16, they must win three games in their district to move on. If a team makes it to the Sweet 16, they must win four more games to win the championship.
“At the most, we would have to win seven games. If you think about that, the NCAA only has to play six games for the NCAA Division I. So we have a little bit of a tougher road,” said Price.
At 20-0, the thoughts of possibly going undefeated begin to creep in. With nine games left, they would still fall short of a school record of 30 wins in a season. However, they are coming close to a few school records. On January 20, the Pride put up 132 points, just seven points shy of tying the school record of 139 set back in the 1987–1988 season. Though, they did set the school record for most three-pointers made in a single game with 17. They are currently averaging 97.7 points a game, which is just 1.2 points shy of a record set back in the 1969–1970 season. They also have a 50.7 field-goal percentage, which is just two percents short of the 52.7 percent record set back in the 1986–1987 season.
The ball is being spread around much more as teams try to take forward Reshardd Harris out of the game. In the game against Wright State University Lake, forward Steven Perriere scored 27 points and 11 rebounds, DeAngalo Gates contributed 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Four more players put up at least 13 points, including Harris who also had 11 rebounds for the day. Teams are throwing different looks at the Pride, but that doesn’t change Coach Price’s coaching style.
“My coaching style over the years has been ‘you’re perfect at what you do and you do it very well.’ You get your team ready and let them know what they may see, but if you spend too much time junking it up, you lose your identity,” said Price.
The Pride have been doing well with Price’s system and hope to continue their success against a tough Columbus State team at home on January 27, and then go on the road against Lakeland CC, a team they beat by 22 a little over a month ago.
Matthew Summers
Sports Editor