Price attended Amityville Memorial High School, where he led the Warriors to three straight Long Island Championships and state titles in his sophomore and junior seasons. As a junior (2003) he averaged 25.4 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. His numbers continued to increase as a senior; he averaged 28.5 points and eight rebounds. He finished his three-year career with 130 career three-pointers and 1,394 career points. He was a two-time Newsday Suffolk County Player of the Year.[3]
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Price was listed as the No. 7 point guard and the No. 32 player in the nation in 2004.[4]
College career
Price chose UConn over Florida State, Kansas and St. John's.[5] He missed his freshman (2004–05) season after a life-threatening battle with AVM, which caused bleeding in his brain.[6] He underwent radio-surgery treatment in February 2005 and spent more than 14 months recovering from his illness.[7] It was not until May 2006 that he received clearance from his doctors to return to the court.
However, Price was suspended by the university for the 2005–06 academic semester due to violations of the University Student Code of Conduct.[8] He was arrested, along with fellow basketball player Marcus Williams in August 2005 on charges of trying to sell stolen laptops. He pleaded not guilty to larceny charges.[9] Price was not permitted to take classes during the Fall 2005 semester, but returned to classes in the Spring 2006 semester.[10]
He returned to the court for the 2006–07 season as a sophomore. He appeared in all 31 games, starting at point guard in 23 contests. For the season he averaged 9.4 points per game with 113 assists and 37 steals to his credit in 23.9 minutes per game. In the 2007–08 season, Price started all 33 games at point guard and was UConn's second leading scorer. He won many awards and was named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's All-America Team. He was also a unanimous selection to the First Team All-BIG EAST squad and selected as USBWA District Player of the Year and member of All-District First Team, named a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, and was chosen as one of ten finalists for the USBWA Player of the Year Award, the Oscar Robertson Trophy and named to the NABC All-District 1 First Team. In the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament against San Diego Price played nine minutes before tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament. The team would go on to lose the game by one point in overtime.
The next season 2008–09 was the best season for Price. Coming off the ACL injury he was the Huskies' leading scorer with 14.7 points a game and was critical in their run to the final four. In a game versus Gonzaga he hit a falling down three-pointer to force the game into overtime.[11] In the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament he was named the most outstanding player in the West Region, but the Huskies fell in the semi-finals to the Michigan State Spartans.[12] He was a liberal arts major at Connecticut.
Price was selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft at number 52 overall by the Indiana Pacers on June 25, 2009.
Midway through the 2009–10 season, Price, along with Earl Watson, moved ahead of T. J. Ford on the team's depth chart. In December, Watson became the starter and Price became the primary backup point guard.
On September 30, 2013, Price signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.[14] On April 3, 2014, he was waived by the Timberwolves.[15]
On September 26, 2014, Price signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[16] On November 1, 2014, he was waived by the Cavaliers before playing in a regular season game for them.[17]
On November 6, 2014, Price signed with the Indiana Pacers to help the team deal with numerous injuries. Indiana had to use an NBA hardship exemption in order to sign him as he made their roster stand at 16, one over the allowed limited of 15.[18][19] On November 28, 2014, he was waived by the Pacers.[20] Two days later, he was claimed off waivers by the Cavaliers.[21] On January 7, 2015, he was waived again by Cavaliers.[22] On March 21, he signed a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns and made his debut for the team later that night, recording 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in a 117–102 win over the Houston Rockets.[23][24] He was not retained by the Suns following the expiration of his 10-day contract on March 31.[25]
Price is the older of two children born to Tony and Inga Price. His younger sister's name is Raven. His father Tony was a standout basketball performer at the University of Pennsylvania, helping the team advance to the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and eventually into the Final Four. Tony was the top scorer of the tournament with 142 points and earned a spot on the 1979 East Regional All-Tournament Team.[27]
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