After four years, Price now stands alone

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.

After he returned, however, Williams was the catalyst for a 30-4 UConn team that might just be the most talented college basketball squad to never win a National Championship. He averaged 12.3 points and 8.6 assists per game and saved the Huskies every time needed a big basket. When they trailed by 12 points with 11:34 remaining against Albany in the first-round, Williams stepped up and calmly knocked down five 3-pointers to rescue UConn from what appeared to be the biggest upset in the history of college basketball.

When George Mason had the Huskies on the ropes in regulation, up 74-70 with 11 seconds left in regulation, Williams drove the lane and hit a difficult runner to bring the Huskies within two points.

In overtime, with UConn trailing 86-81 with 11 seconds remaining, Williams did it again, as he coolly buried an NBA 3-pointer to make it a two-point game.

Throughout his all-too-brief collegiate career, Williams seemed as though he had a switch that he turned on and off. When he was coasting, Williams was one of the best point guards in America. When he decided to play, he was the best, hands down. He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. In short, he embodied everything that the 2005-2006 UConn basketball team was about.

Now Williams, who was released from the Golden State Warriors two weeks ago, is in search of a job. Price, who still keeps in touch with his ex-teammate, is busy attempting to do what even the ultra-talented Williams could not - lead UConn to a National Championship.

As good as Ollie, El-Amin and Brown were, Williams and Price have abilities that the previous three did not. And though the two remain friends, the differences between Williams and Price are striking.

Price doesn't have an on-and-off switch. He doesn't wait until desperation time to take over the game. And because of Price, there hasn't been a desperation time in the NCAA Tournament thus far. There was no Albany in the first round. This time, UConn hammered sixteenth-seeded Chatanooga by 56 points, the third largest margin of victory in tournament history. There was no late-game thriller against Washington. Instead, behind Price's dominant performance, UConn handled Texas A&M, 92-66. Even when the Huskies led by 20-plus points in the second half, Price was still fighting through screens and shouting out instructions to his teammates.

The NBA seems to be the furthest thing from Price's mind. The National Championship seems to be the only thing in focus.

With 14:59 remaining in the second half against Texas A&M, Price converted a difficult layup and drew a foul to put UConn 64-43. As he went to the line to finish off the 3-point play, the Wachovia Center fell into a dead silence. That's when a Texas A&M fan yelled, "I want my laptop back."

No one laughed. No one found his comment to be witty. If anything, perplexed looks crossed the faces of both UConn and Texas A&M fans. The reaction was more like "what is this guy even talking about?"

It took a minute to piece together. A.J. Price, the man who leads the top-seeded Huskies on the court and, for the most part, serves as its spokesperson off it, is indeed the same kid who stole those laptops three and a half years ago.

He never turned into the next Antonio Kellogg. He never even turned into the next Marcus Williams.

"As far as who's the best, it's not for me to say," Price said. "When it's all said and done, eventually that will be talked about I'm sure, but I'll leave it up to you guys [the media] to decide."

Whether he wants to say it or not, Price has made the decision himself. Somehow, with all the odds stacked against him, A.J Price has become the best point guard to ever wear a UConn jersey.