BonnerSprings.com

Andy Price is laying the groundwork quickly for his second stint as the Bonner Springs High School boys basketball coach.

He was hired in late spring and quickly got his old staff back together, and he also put together a rigorous summer schedule in hopes the Braves will be ready to run full speed ahead on the first day of practice this winter.

So far, that groundwork has included summer tournaments and a summer league. On Monday, the annual team camp began.

Up to this point, Price likes what he’s seen. In particular, he was thrilled with his team’s performance at the Blue Valley West Summer League in June. A team consisting of the Braves’ incoming juniors and seniors, as well as freshman Jordan Jackson, posted a 5-3 record in the league that also included Blue Valley West, Topeka High, Olathe South, Basehor-Linwood, Olathe North and Blue Valley Northwest.

“It was definitely really good competition for us,” Price said of the league that included five Class 6A schools.

“Going into that league the first or second week in June, we didn’t have an opportunity to put in a lot of our system, so we had to just rely on working hard and defending. I thought we defended really well in that league, and we were getting a lot of rebounds and then running the floor well. We did have a little bit of practice time (during the league), so by the end we were able to start running a little of our (secondary) break.”

Price said the team overcame its lack of experience with the new offensive system by outworking opponents. He praised his players for their work ethic, but he said he wasn’t surprised by it.

“You have to give (former) coach (Ryan) Hull and the coaching staff from last year credit,” Price said. “Even when we watched them last year, even when they struggled, they always had good effort. They always worked hard and they were always hustling. Now they’re a year older, they’re a year better, so we’ve just got to develop those skills. We’ve got a slightly different system that they’ve got to adjust to, but (their work ethic is) a credit to what they already had. Right out of the gate they had really high effort and worked really hard on defense, so that made everything easier for us to begin.”

The next step of the program transition is taking place this week at the team camp. The morning session is for sophomores, juniors and seniors and an afternoon session is for seventh- and eighth-graders and freshmen.

Price and his staff are using camp to finish implementing their base offense and secondary break, as well as to emphasize man-to-man defense.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to work with all of them in the gym at the same time in a practice situation rather than just being individual workouts,” Price said. “Definitely this is an important week for us, especially for some of the guys that are maybe track and football guys that don’t get a lot of repetitions in basketball. (It’s important that) we can get our system put in this week so that we don’t have to start from scratch when the season starts.”

When camp ends, the Braves will have an immediate opportunity to practice what they’ve learned in a game situation. BSHS is playing host to a Mid-America Youth Basketball tournament this weekend. Bonner Springs will have three boys and three girls teams entered in the tournament, and they will compete free of charge.

“Their payment for playing is they each have to provide one family member to be a volunteer worker,” Price said, “and then all of the proceeds from the tournament go back into the boys and girls basketball program so we can buy things — like we bought that Shooting Gun (machine that rebounds and passes balls to players during shooting drills).”

“(The tournament) is a good opportunity to have a week of camp and then try to use what they learned in game situations this weekend and do it for free while raising some money all at the same time,” Price said.

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