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Kings Notes: Price is making his point
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 1:03 am PDT Saturday, October 21, 2006
With the clock ticking and the doomsday of necessary roster cuts looming, end-of-bench players the league over are looking for signs of hope regarding their own uncertain status.
Ronnie Price got his atta-boy Friday.
Kings coach Eric Musselman used the word "unbelievable" in reference to his second-year point guard, signaling quite the evolution for the player who was trailed by question marks just a few months back.
"A couple weeks ago, we really asked him to really focus on being a point guard and not to worry about the scoring," Musselman said. "Since that time, he's done an unbelievable job."
The assessments weren't so glowing in July, when Price struggled during summer league play in Las Vegas, and the project of turning a scoring point guard into a conventional one wasn't going so well. Ironically, Price's scoring has been the eye-catcher the past two games, as he posted 12 points against Phoenix on Thursday and 11 against the Lakers on Tuesday. But he has earned praise from the coaching staff by playing under control and distributing the ball with confidence.
Given the numbers crunch of the Kings roster, guaranteed money doesn't necessarily guarantee a roster spot.
Nonetheless, Price is owed $664,000 for the final year of his two-year deal. He's banking on past experience, though, to complete the transformation and secure a spot on the 15-man roster that must be finalized by Oct. 30.
"I finished as a combo guard at Utah Valley State (during his college years)," Price said. "But when I started playing (as a kid), the only position I knew was point guard. Now being at that position again, it's just getting that feel and being used to where I was."
For starters -- There were new wrinkles in the starting lineup Friday, with Ron Artest not starting because of a sore back and Shareef Abdur-Rahim taking over at center.
But the core group that started the first three games remains in good graces with Musselman, even after Steve Nash and the Phoenix starters dominated in Thursday's loss.
"I think the starters, in two of those three games, played phenomenal, did exactly what we wanted," Musselman said, referring to Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, Artest, Kenny Thomas and Brad Miller. "And then Phoenix, based on their style of play, they hurt us. ... We're happy with what the starters have done."
Martin reminiscing -- Martin looked like a lost puppy, not quite sure what to do with himself or where to go before the Kings faced Utah.
For nearly every game of his first two seasons, Martin had a pregame routine with former assistant coach Pete Carril, the hoops guru who has since moved back to his New Jersey home -- near where he became a legend as a coach at Princeton. Before Carril departed, the sage and his subject would discuss all matters of life courtside, forming a bond that apparently still remains.
Just as Martin reminisced in the Kings' locker room about the coach known better as "Coachie," his cell phone rang.
"Coachie just left a message," he said with a grin. "See, he knew I was thinking about him."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@ sacbee.com.
Kings Notes: Price is making his point
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 1:03 am PDT Saturday, October 21, 2006
With the clock ticking and the doomsday of necessary roster cuts looming, end-of-bench players the league over are looking for signs of hope regarding their own uncertain status.
Ronnie Price got his atta-boy Friday.
Kings coach Eric Musselman used the word "unbelievable" in reference to his second-year point guard, signaling quite the evolution for the player who was trailed by question marks just a few months back.
"A couple weeks ago, we really asked him to really focus on being a point guard and not to worry about the scoring," Musselman said. "Since that time, he's done an unbelievable job."
The assessments weren't so glowing in July, when Price struggled during summer league play in Las Vegas, and the project of turning a scoring point guard into a conventional one wasn't going so well. Ironically, Price's scoring has been the eye-catcher the past two games, as he posted 12 points against Phoenix on Thursday and 11 against the Lakers on Tuesday. But he has earned praise from the coaching staff by playing under control and distributing the ball with confidence.
Given the numbers crunch of the Kings roster, guaranteed money doesn't necessarily guarantee a roster spot.
Nonetheless, Price is owed $664,000 for the final year of his two-year deal. He's banking on past experience, though, to complete the transformation and secure a spot on the 15-man roster that must be finalized by Oct. 30.
"I finished as a combo guard at Utah Valley State (during his college years)," Price said. "But when I started playing (as a kid), the only position I knew was point guard. Now being at that position again, it's just getting that feel and being used to where I was."
For starters -- There were new wrinkles in the starting lineup Friday, with Ron Artest not starting because of a sore back and Shareef Abdur-Rahim taking over at center.
But the core group that started the first three games remains in good graces with Musselman, even after Steve Nash and the Phoenix starters dominated in Thursday's loss.
"I think the starters, in two of those three games, played phenomenal, did exactly what we wanted," Musselman said, referring to Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, Artest, Kenny Thomas and Brad Miller. "And then Phoenix, based on their style of play, they hurt us. ... We're happy with what the starters have done."
Martin reminiscing -- Martin looked like a lost puppy, not quite sure what to do with himself or where to go before the Kings faced Utah.
For nearly every game of his first two seasons, Martin had a pregame routine with former assistant coach Pete Carril, the hoops guru who has since moved back to his New Jersey home -- near where he became a legend as a coach at Princeton. Before Carril departed, the sage and his subject would discuss all matters of life courtside, forming a bond that apparently still remains.
Just as Martin reminisced in the Kings' locker room about the coach known better as "Coachie," his cell phone rang.
"Coachie just left a message," he said with a grin. "See, he knew I was thinking about him."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@ sacbee.com.
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