Christian Babcock is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe High School for AZPreps365.com.

Coach Kaimarr Price is watching his Mountain Pointe team go through a walk-through. It's Thursday, and a matchup with Highland looms on Friday.

Price doesn't like what he's seeing.

"I don’t know what it is. Some days, it's amazing," he said. "Some days, it's very hard to watch. We don't have structure."

The same could be said for his program.

Price's team sits at 12-9 this season. With a playoff spot all but assured, the remaining three regular-season games will determine where the Pride are seeded come tournament time.

There have been highs, like an 84-66 win over Queen Creek that featured a big second-half run. There have been lows, like a 69-60 loss to Highland the day after Price's comments.

But as Mountain Pointe prepares for a pivotal matchup with rival Desert Vista, Price hopes the lessons he's imparting on his players bear fruit soon enough.

Price is in year one at Mountain Pointe. He succeeded Kirk Fauske, who left to coach upstart PHHoenix Prep.

Mountain Pointe's ethos under Price is predicated on athleticism. Price runs an up-tempo system featuring near-constant pressing on defense and quick-strike offense.

The breakneck style of play leads to frequent substitutions.

"We have a bunch of players who come here who want to be out there to play,” Price said. “And pressing makes it a more up-tempo game. Creates more possessions for us and tires guys out more, so they can't play as many minutes. So we have a solid 10 guys that play every single game.”

Whichever five are on the floor look to get a quality shot within the first 6-8 seconds after a rebound or missed shot, Price said. After a while, the other team tires, and that’s when the Pride pounce.

“A lot of times in second halves, we make big runs on teams cause they either get in foul trouble and have to play guys who aren't used to playing, or they just tire out, wear down,” Price said. “Against Queen Creek the other day, we went on a like 22-4 run in the third quarter just because they were just gassed. So huge advantage for us.”

When you press as much as Mountain Pointe does, you need athletic players. Price pointed to the athleticism of the roster as something that enticed him to take the job and leave his previous position as an assistant coach at NAIA Ottawa University in Surprise.

“That's probably the biggest reason I think this is the best job,” Price said. “If it wasn't this job that opened up, I would have stayed at Ottawa. It's the perfect job because you get these athletes. And if you can't figure out a way to mold this into a winner, then you shouldn't be coaching.”

Mountain Pointe draws players from South Phoenix and the city of Maricopa as well as from its location in Ahwatukee. Despite the reserves of talent, however, the Pride have never won a state championship in boys basketball.

How will they get there? If they do, it’ll be with those talented players Price talks about. Among them is Jason Kimbrough, a junior point guard and the only returning varsity starter from last year’s team.

Kimbrough has overseen the team’s transition firsthand as it learned to embrace Price’s style.

“We went through a rough patch in the season, and through that time, we learned a lot as players,” Kimbrough said. “I think he learned a lot as a coach. And we learned a lot how we wanted to play.”

Junior forward Zereoue Williams is in his first year on varsity and has flashed significant potential. He sees a promising future for the team.

“We had some slip-ups during the season, but coach kept his composure, which kept us going, and we started getting on this winning streak,” Williams said. “Coach has been very confident that we’re gonna win the state championship, and we take that energy and we get to work.”

Among those spearheading the transition and build toward the future is freshman point guard Mark Brown. Brown, who is already showing up on college teams’ radar, knows the future of the program is in his hands.

“(Price) came right in saying that we were a good team, that we have a chance to win state this year,” Brown said. “He’s pushing us … so we just push each other every damn practice.”

Price has liked what he’s seen from his team’s work ethic.

“This is the most consistently hardest-working team that I've been around,” Price said. “That just kind of makes everything easier from my standpoint. We don't have to coach attitude and effort. It's easy to coach the X's and O's.”

As the Pride gear up for the stretch run, they’re counting on that work ethic powering them through the playoffs and beyond.

"Our younger kids are always ready to learn, always ready to play,” Kimbrough said. “Mark being a freshman, he's going to lead this school very well. I think we'll be in the final four for the next 4-5 years.”

Brown, for his part, plans on carrying the leadership lessons he’s learned from upperclassmen like Kimbrough and Williams after they graduate.

“I'm gonna definitely be a leader,” Brown said. “They taught me so much about being a leader, so I look up to them.”

Price knows the climb toward a state championship is a long one, but he’s confident he’ll eventually reach the summit.

“It's a big challenge because we've never won, we've never had a state championship here,” Price said. “But all the raw tools and resources are here to get it done."