NEW YORK –– The last time A.J. Price played at Madison Square Garden, he was a UConn Husky and his team played a classic six-OT affair against Syracuse in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
“I was so wired after that game, I couldn’t go to sleep when I got home. I was pretty much up all night thinking about the game and it really took literally a whole day just to recover,” Price, an Amityville, N.Y. native, said before his Indiana Pacers faced the Knicks Wednessay at MSG .
Syracuse won that game and eventually lost to Louisville in the Big East Tournament final.
Still, Price’s Huskies went on to the Final Four, where they lost to Michigan State.
Now the 6-foot-2, 181-pound rookie is adjusting to life in the NBA. In three games, he has played just 7 minutes, 28 seconds and averaged 1.5 points.
“I’m just adjusting to the size, speed,” Price said. “There’s different calibers of players at this level, so all you can do is just try to better yourself each day and help the team improve also.”
Playing in college for Jim Calhoun prepared Price for this level, he said.
“Playing under a Hall of Fame coach and someone who demanded hard work all the time, it’s really helped me pay off in the NBA because now I’m doing the same thing I did in college,” he said.
UConn went 31-4 last season. The Pacers were 0-3 entering the Knicks game, and Price isn’t accustomed to much losing.
“Right now it’s difficult. We’re 0-3 but it’s a very long season and we have a chance to turn the season around,” he said.
Without Price, Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet (Memphis Grizzlies), UConn will now rely on a new Big 3 of Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson.
“I think they can be very good,” Price said. “It’s going to be different from traditional UConn teams, which had a lot of big men. This year it’s going to be more guard oriented but I think it’s going to suit them well because those guys can really get up and down.”
Price said Walker, out of Manhattan Rice, is poised for a “breakout season.”
“I think he’s really going to show the nation how good he is,” he said. “I’m just anxious to see it myself.”
(Photo courtesy Day Life)
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