Ronnie Price

Ronnie Price

No. 2 - Phoenix Suns
Point guard
Personal information
Born	June 21, 1983 (1983-06-21) Friendswood, Texas
Nationality	American
High school	Clear Brook
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
College	Nicholls State Utah Valley
Pro career	2005–present
Career history
Sacramento Kings (2005–07) Utah Jazz (2007–2011) Phoenix Suns (2011–present)

Ronald D'Wayne Price (born June 21, 1983 in Friendswood, Texas) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays with the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association.

College career

At 5-foot-8, Price was considered undersized as a senior at Clear Brook High School, located approximately two miles northeast of Friendswood, Texas. Because of his lack of height, Price was not offered any basketball scholarships after graduation. He walked-on at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He grew to 5-foot-11 by the beginning of his freshman season and surprised many people by averaging 11.3 points per game. He continued growing to his current height of 6-foot-2, but he felt the situation at Nicholls State was not right for him. He transferred to what was then Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) in Orem, Utah.

As a sophomore (2002–03), Price averaged 15.3 points per game, earning Honorable Mention honors in the NJCAA Region 18. UVSC became a four-year institution the following year, and Price decided to stay as the school transitioned to NCAA Division I basketball. He improved his scoring average to 20.2 points per game as a junior (2003–04), leading the Wolverines to the Division I Provisional National Championship. The Wolverines finished the season with a 23–5 record. Price scored a career-high 37 points in a game twice during the season.

His senior season (2004–05) was spectacular. Price averaged 24.3 points per game, ranking third in the nation in that category. CBSsportsline.com ranked him as the top college point guard in the country. For his efforts, he was named Division I Independent Player of the Year. He finished his senior year with a terrific performance, scoring a season-high 36 points (27 in the second half) in a 71–52 victory over Northern Colorado.

Price was inducted into the Utah Valley University Hall of Fame on February 4, 2010 at halftime of a game between the Wolverines and the University of Texas-Pan American.

Professional career

Price was not drafted into the NBA, but he was invited to work out with some of the top teams in the league, including the Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons. In August 2005, he signed a guaranteed two-year contract with the Sacramento Kings. He played sporadically in two seasons with the Kings, backing up Mike Bibby and Jason Hart (prior to Hart being waived and picked up by the Clippers) averaging 2.9 points in 87 games. He only started one game during his time in Sacramento (a loss to the Phoenix Suns). He scored a career-high 16 points in a game against the Jazz in November 2006, including a ferocious one-handed slam over Carlos Boozer that was named the NBA's Haier Play of the Day.

In July 2007, Price signed a free agent contract with the Jazz. He started the season as third-string point guard, behind Deron Williams and Jason Hart (Hart for the second time). Price eventually replaced Hart as the main backup to Williams. He played in 61 games in 2007–08, averaging 3.7 points per game. He made highlight reels again after a block he had on Luke Walton in game 4 of the second round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs against the L.A. Lakers. Walton appeared to have a breakaway layup or dunk when Price unexpectedly caught up with him at the last moment and blocked him soundly, despite their difference in height. This was after receiving 4 stitches and a large bandage above his right eye following a flagrant foul from Ronny Turiaf earlier in the game.

On December 13, 2011, Price signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Suns to replace Zabian Dowdell.

Price is the first player to enter the NBA directly from Utah Valley University. Travis Hansen and Michael McDonald are the only other former UVU players to enter the NBA.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	Sacramento	29	0	5.2	.362	.222	1.000	.5	.4	.2	.0	2.1
2006–07	Sacramento	58	1	9.7	.390	.323	.673	1.2	.8	.5	.1	3.3
2007–08	Utah	61	3	9.6	.431	.347	.684	.8	1.3	.5	.1	3.7
2008–09	Utah	52	17	14.2	.379	.311	.756	1.3	2.1	.8	.1	4.0
2009–10	Utah	60	4	13.4	.405	.286	.695	1.2	2.0	.7	.2	4.3
2010–11	Utah	59	0	12.2	.352	.290	.744	1.0	.9	.7	.1	3.3
Career		319	25	11.2	.390	.306	.722	1.1	1.3	.6	.1	3.6

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005–06	Sacramento	4	0	2.3	.000	.000	.000	.0	.3	.0	.0	.0
2007–08	Utah	12	0	5.7	.323	.214	.769	.3	.9	.5	.2	2.8
2008–09	Utah	2	0	8.0	.300	.000	1.000	1.5	2.5	.5	.0	4.0
2009–10	Utah	10	0	9.0	.292	.286	.500	1.0	1.4	.4	.1	2.0
Career		28	0	6.5	.294	.208	.696	.6	1.1	.4	.1	2.2

External links

• NBA.com player profile
• ESPN.com player profile