TOP BIG EAST POINT GUARDS OF 2008-2009: #1 AJ PRICE
November 5, 2008
AJ Price has certainly taken the long, winding road to this point. Coming to Connecticut as a highly touted and highly sought-after point guard in the fall of 2004, much was expected from the Amityville (NY) prospect right away. However, what ensued shortly after became Price's own Amityville Horror as a life-threatening brain hemorrhage, caused by an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM), a birth defect in his brain, had Price in critical condition at a Connecticut hospital. After two weeks, Price was finally out of the hospital, but a basketball career was still in doubt.
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While his body recovered, Price waited for medical clearance to play. In the summer of 2005, Price's path back to the basketball court took another step backwards as he was in the attempt to sell stolen laptops at a local pawn shop. Te laptops were stolen from the UConn campus and police identified Price and teammate Marcus Williams as those attempting to fence the stolen goods. Price, who was still not medically cleared to play basketball, would enter a pre-trial diversion program and would be suspended from Connecticut for the season.
After finally putting medical and legal issues behind him, Price's long-awaited Connecticut basketball debut came in the 2006-2007 season. The weight of expectations seemed to be like a 1,000 lb gorilla on his shoulders and Price showed the rust of a tumultuous two-year lay-off. The Huskies struggled, leaderless on the floor, and their expected leader managed to shoot just 36% from the field, average 9 points a game and average just 3.6 assists a contest. UConn missed the postseason, and it looked like expectations for Price had seriously missed the mark.
His junior season in 2007-2008 got off to a decent start, but something began to change as November turned into December. The leader that coach Jim Calhoun had been trying to coax out of Price began to emerge. Coach Calhoun has not made the Hall of Fame for nothing, the two-time national championship coach knows the importance of leadership at the point guard position in maximizing your college basketball odds.
When the Husky season entered a period that potentially had it on the brink, with a suspension to Jerome Dyson, it was Price who held things together and moved UConn forward.
Price averaged 16 points and 5.5 assists last season in Big East conference action, earning 1st team all-conference honors and All-American consideration as well. However, just as things looked to have taken off, Price was grounded once again. This time, just nine minutes into the NCAA Tournament's 1st round contest with San Diego, Price went down with a torn ACL. Once again, adversity strikes.
Price spent the summer undergoing a grueling rehabilitation process determined to return to UConn healthy for his senior season. Just six months after the injury, Price was cleared to practice with his team. He has recovered physically, but the mental anguish of a Knee injury has led to some soreness in his foot and leg as he compensates for the reconstructed knee. Each day, things get a little better, and now, as UConn prepares for their highly anticipated 2008-2009 campaign, Price will be back in the starting line-up leading the charge. If healthy, he has shown to be a perfect blend of offensive talent and leadership from the point guard position. He has shown the knowledge and understanding of when to get his big men involved and find the other perimeter players in position to score, but he can also be counted on to create the big scoring opportunity the team needs and convert for himself.
His health is the only question, and it is a big question, but if healthy, AJ Price is the #1 point guard in the Big East, according to the NBE Basketball Report staff.
AJ Price has certainly taken the long, winding road to this point. Coming to Connecticut as a highly touted and highly sought-after point guard in the fall of 2004, much was expected from the Amityville (NY) prospect right away. However, what ensued shortly after became Price's own Amityville Horror as a life-threatening brain hemorrhage, caused by an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM), a birth defect in his brain, had Price in critical condition at a Connecticut hospital. After two weeks, Price was finally out of the hospital, but a basketball career was still in doubt.
Read More...Click Below!
While his body recovered, Price waited for medical clearance to play. In the summer of 2005, Price's path back to the basketball court took another step backwards as he was in the attempt to sell stolen laptops at a local pawn shop. Te laptops were stolen from the UConn campus and police identified Price and teammate Marcus Williams as those attempting to fence the stolen goods. Price, who was still not medically cleared to play basketball, would enter a pre-trial diversion program and would be suspended from Connecticut for the season.
After finally putting medical and legal issues behind him, Price's long-awaited Connecticut basketball debut came in the 2006-2007 season. The weight of expectations seemed to be like a 1,000 lb gorilla on his shoulders and Price showed the rust of a tumultuous two-year lay-off. The Huskies struggled, leaderless on the floor, and their expected leader managed to shoot just 36% from the field, average 9 points a game and average just 3.6 assists a contest. UConn missed the postseason, and it looked like expectations for Price had seriously missed the mark.
His junior season in 2007-2008 got off to a decent start, but something began to change as November turned into December. The leader that coach Jim Calhoun had been trying to coax out of Price began to emerge. Coach Calhoun has not made the Hall of Fame for nothing, the two-time national championship coach knows the importance of leadership at the point guard position in maximizing your college basketball odds.
When the Husky season entered a period that potentially had it on the brink, with a suspension to Jerome Dyson, it was Price who held things together and moved UConn forward.
Price averaged 16 points and 5.5 assists last season in Big East conference action, earning 1st team all-conference honors and All-American consideration as well. However, just as things looked to have taken off, Price was grounded once again. This time, just nine minutes into the NCAA Tournament's 1st round contest with San Diego, Price went down with a torn ACL. Once again, adversity strikes.
Price spent the summer undergoing a grueling rehabilitation process determined to return to UConn healthy for his senior season. Just six months after the injury, Price was cleared to practice with his team. He has recovered physically, but the mental anguish of a Knee injury has led to some soreness in his foot and leg as he compensates for the reconstructed knee. Each day, things get a little better, and now, as UConn prepares for their highly anticipated 2008-2009 campaign, Price will be back in the starting line-up leading the charge. If healthy, he has shown to be a perfect blend of offensive talent and leadership from the point guard position. He has shown the knowledge and understanding of when to get his big men involved and find the other perimeter players in position to score, but he can also be counted on to create the big scoring opportunity the team needs and convert for himself.
His health is the only question, and it is a big question, but if healthy, AJ Price is the #1 point guard in the Big East, according to the NBE Basketball Report staff.
Labels: Connecticut news
posted by NBE Blogger @ 12:05 PM
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1 Comments:
Love college hoops time!
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