Spring Break
After four years, Price now stands alone
Kevin Duffy
Issue date: 3/23/09 Section: Sports
PHILADELPHIA - Nearly four years ago, A.J. Price was infamously handed a one-year basketball suspension for his part in a dormitory laptop theft - causing opposing teams and even UConn students to taunt him regularly.
The words "thug" and "punk" followed Price around everywhere he went. Despite being in the program for two years - he signed his letter of intent in 2004 - hardly anyone on campus even knew what he looked like. At this point, hardly anyone expected Price to amount to much of anything at UConn. He was destined to end up another Antonio Kellogg, a talented guard whose off-the-court problems drove him out of Storrs. And like when the team lost Kellogg after his freshman year, UConn would move on and A.J. Price would be the kid who squandered a chance at greatness over a few computers.
Fast-forward to the NCAA Tournament in 2009. Price had just scored 27 points and dished out eight assists in a 26-point romp of ninth-seeded Texas A&M.
"Big time players step up in big time games in big time moments," Price said after the game.
UConn has had some big-time players, particularly at point guard, since Calhoun took the reins in 1986.
First there was Kevin Ollie, a guy who's been good enough to stick around in the NBA for 12 years.
Then there was Khalid El-Amin, a chubby, undersized point guard who looked like he had no business playing Big East basketball, let alone leading UConn to its first National Championship in 1999.
In 2000, when El-Amin was a junior, Taliek Brown committed to UConn as one the most highly-touted point guard prospects in the country. Brown was not a prolific scorer, but he ended his career in 2004 with a national title of his own and the school record for career assists.
The 2004 season also marked the arrival of Marcus Williams. A high-profile recruit out of basketball factory Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Williams was suspended for the second half of UConn's 2004 national championship run due to poor academics. He battled ankle injuries as a sophomore and after teaming with Price in the theft of four laptops, Williams was sidelined for the first 11 games of his junior season.
The words "thug" and "punk" followed Price around everywhere he went. Despite being in the program for two years - he signed his letter of intent in 2004 - hardly anyone on campus even knew what he looked like. At this point, hardly anyone expected Price to amount to much of anything at UConn. He was destined to end up another Antonio Kellogg, a talented guard whose off-the-court problems drove him out of Storrs. And like when the team lost Kellogg after his freshman year, UConn would move on and A.J. Price would be the kid who squandered a chance at greatness over a few computers.
Fast-forward to the NCAA Tournament in 2009. Price had just scored 27 points and dished out eight assists in a 26-point romp of ninth-seeded Texas A&M.
"Big time players step up in big time games in big time moments," Price said after the game.
UConn has had some big-time players, particularly at point guard, since Calhoun took the reins in 1986.
First there was Kevin Ollie, a guy who's been good enough to stick around in the NBA for 12 years.
Then there was Khalid El-Amin, a chubby, undersized point guard who looked like he had no business playing Big East basketball, let alone leading UConn to its first National Championship in 1999.
In 2000, when El-Amin was a junior, Taliek Brown committed to UConn as one the most highly-touted point guard prospects in the country. Brown was not a prolific scorer, but he ended his career in 2004 with a national title of his own and the school record for career assists.
The 2004 season also marked the arrival of Marcus Williams. A high-profile recruit out of basketball factory Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Williams was suspended for the second half of UConn's 2004 national championship run due to poor academics. He battled ankle injuries as a sophomore and after teaming with Price in the theft of four laptops, Williams was sidelined for the first 11 games of his junior season.