Although the men’s basketball team has a record of 11-5 and seems to be playing up to the community college’s standards for the program, head coach Jeff Price is worried that his team’s overall size may cause problems as they head into conference play.
“In conference play, we’re going to see a lot bigger teams and were going to have to fight for every possession,” Price said.
The lack of big men, which has been caused by various reasons that include injury and players transferring back home, has Price concerned about the team getting beat up on the glass.
“Rebounding is going to be an issue—a big issue,” Price said.
Since rebounding is such an issue, Price has emphasized the importance of his team making sure they get to as many of the “50-50 balls” as they can. Price has also has stressed the importance of overall hustle.
The loss of big men from the team has caused Price to change the team’s philosophy to a more perimeter based offense with a lot of pick and roll and ball screens.
“We’re more perimeter conscious,” Price said. “We shot more three’s this year than we have in the past. In the past we’ve had a lot more sets, we’ve run the triangle, but this year people have been packing it in on us, so we’ve got to stretch the defense and we’ve got to create some seams.”
The team on average shoots about 18 three-pointers a game, while hitting 31 percent of those shots through 16 games, according to National Junior College Athletic Association statistics.
Not only has the offensive game plan changed, but it also has changed on the defensive side.
“With having only eight players, we’re not pressing as much,” Price said. “We pick and choose when we go after people.”
Despite the size difficulties, the team has been playing at a high level and the offense is averaging 90 points per game, according to NJCAA statistics.
The game against West Virginia Parkersburg was moved to Feb. 27, which allowed Price a full week to prepare his team for the conference opener against Owens Community College on Jan. 14.
Price said the biggest obstacle in the sense of preparation is adapting to the fact that Owens has a completely new coaching staff. Owens is ranked in the top 20 in the nation, but Price said that’s not the highest ranked opponent on the conference schedule. Lakeland Community College, Cincinnati State Community College and Columbus State Community College are ranked 9th, 7th and 4th in the nation respectively.
Price hopes his players are prepared for the conference season to begin. He knows the sophomores are, but isn’t so sure about the freshman.
“It usually takes them the first time through the conference to realize, ‘Oh wow, these guys are pretty good,’” Price said. “By the time February rolls around we should be a little more seasoned.”