When Sinaee Price was in seventh grade playing basketball at Rickover Junior High, she was already on the radar of Bloom coach Sherman White.
A former Bloom administrator at Rickover tipped off White about Price’s prowess on the court, so he went to one of her games.
“I saw what all of the hype was about,” White said. “I saw someone who was a player beyond her years. Her game was very mature for a seventh grader.
“And I was really impressed with her leadership and communication skills.”
The downside? White had to wait for two years before Price would put on a high school uniform.
But that time has finally come this season. Price, a freshman guard, scored a career-high 17 points Tuesday night for the Blazing Trojans in a 53-45 nonconference victory at Evergreen Park.
The 5-foot-5 Price, who starts, scored six of the first eight points for Bloom (8-5) to open the fourth quarter and give the Blazing Trojans a 51-35 lead.
Price also finished with six rebounds and five steals. Kamryn Turner tallied six points, seven rebounds and three steals. Shania Jackson had nine points, four rebounds and two blocked shots.
Kyziah Lewis and Tatum Harris each had 11 points for Evergreen Park (6-6). Grace Kole contributed eight rebounds and Lewis added seven for the Mustangs.
Price, meanwhile, is making herself right at home with a team that was 21-9 last season but with no seniors and the whole team coming back.
“It’s really tough to break into this lineup,” Turner said. “You have to really work in practice and you have to work harder than everybody else.”
Price may have come to Bloom with some hype, but she was taking nothing for granted.
“I knew I had some competition,” she said. “I actually had to work hard to get my starting spot.”
It has been successful so far.
“I think she’s starting off great,” Turner said. “She has the mindset that she wants to play, and she’s very determined and ready to get on the court.
“She does everything I ask and she’s great to play with.”
White said Price is not a typical freshman.
“She deserved her spot and earned that spot,” he said about Price’s starting role.
Price and the rest of the Blazing Trojans are experiencing it all this season, from a 51-19 win over Thornwood to a 104-60 loss to Kenwood.
The players are using the losses as a learning curve.
“We learned that we had to be patient and play better defense,” Turner said. “We came out of that game wanting to do better in the next game moving forward.
“It was a punch that we had to take.”
Even though she’s playing against athletes who are as much as three years older, Price doesn’t get discouraged in tough games. She said she likes the direction the Blazing Trojans are going.
Price got started playing basketball in kindergarten after going on an outing with her father.
“We went to basketball game and I loved it,” she said. “I was young and I don’t remember who was playing, but I liked how they played. They moved the ball around. They played hard.
“I probably decided to play that night.”
Needless to say, White is pretty happy with that decision, too.
“She’s a student of the game,” White said of Price. “She’s an old-school gym rat. She lives and dies basketball. She’s all about basketball
“From day one, we knew she was going to do some special things here. But what I’m really impressed with is her work ethic. She really gets after it.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
