Sinclair’s men’s basketball team is two-thirds through their season and are focusing their sights on March and postseason basketball.
Going into the season, this year’s team consists of all freshmen, meaning there were a number of trials and tribulations heading into the season.
“Coming into the season, we did not have one person that had played one second of college basketball,” Jeff Price, head coach of Sinclair’s men’s basketball team stated. “This is a whole new experience for them.”
Sinclair started off with a streak of victories. However, as the season went on, the team hit a bump in the road. But losses have not stopped the team from continuing to push forward.
Learning a new system and concepts is extremely challenging for individuals who have never played together. Teams take time to build when there are no players who have experience in the system run by coach Price.
Also, conditioning the team to play a longer schedule adds another layer of difficulty to the season. A high school basketball season consists of 20 games, while at Sinclair, the schedule is 30 games. Meaning they are playing ten more games than they are accustomed to playing.
With a team of freshmen, there are going to be freshmen mistakes. However, with mistakes comes learning and changing those mistakes for more satisfying outcomes down the road.
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“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores,” Price said. “I watch these guys grow every day and it’s a fun process and I’m happy to be along the journey with them.”
There is tons of room to grow as a team heading towards the future especially when March is right around the corner. Sinclair currently has an 11-10 record and have nine games remaining in their season. While the team continues to build, it still is a process. Players are continuing to learn and build chemistry with teammates and coaches to try to find success heading towards the conclusion of the season.
“It’s day to day. Sometimes they look good, sometimes they don’t,” Price said. “Sometimes they take two steps forward and one step back, but that’s because everything they are doing is for the first time.”
“We have put together some good momentum over the last two to three weeks,” coach Price stated. “We take that momentum to the summer. The teams that are beating us with sophomores, we’re going to return the favor the following year.”
Coach Price is also on the precipice of making history, after winning his 300th game with the Tartans on Jan. 6. Following their most recent victory, Price stands at 303 wins, the second most in Sinclair men’s basketball history. Coach Don Cundiff currently holds the record at 305 wins.
Sinclair is coming off an 83-69 victory in their most recent game against Edison Community College. Could this be a start of gaining momentum heading towards March?
David Jacobus
Staff Writer