Price thankful he’s alive

Freshman guard A.J. Price was supposed to play a big role for the defending national champion University of Connecticut men’s basketball team this season. Now he watches from the bench. On one level, he finds this supremely frustrating. On another, he’s fine with it.

“I’m just happy to be alive,” he said.

Price was born with a brain abnormality that was like a hidden time bomb for 18 years. In early October, he couldn’t get out of bed. He thought he had flu. It turned out to be a brain hemorrhage. He was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition.

“I almost died,” Price said. “I don’t remember any of it. And I think that’s probably a good thing.”

Teens typically feel immortal – the more so for athletes who soar like Greek gods. Price was once that way, but no more. These days he speaks with a kind of wisdom seldom found at 18.

“I don’t take anything for granted anymore,” he said. “Now I cherish every moment. Maybe it was a blessing. I didn’t have to wait until I was older to find out what is important in life. I got to bond with my family. We were always close. Now we have gotten so much tighter.”

He is talking about his mother, Inga; his sister, Raven, 11; and his father, Tony, who led the University of Pennsylvania to the 1979 Final Four. Tony Price was the leading scorer in a tournament whose other stars included Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

A.J. stands for Anthony Jordan. He is named for his father – and for Michael Jordan, his mother’s favorite player. Now the father aches for the son to get the Price family back to a Final Four.

“He wants a ring,” Price said. “That’s the one thing he asked me for. He says he already has a Final Four watch; he doesn’t need another one. Hopefully, one day I’ll get him that ring.”

It’s possible. Price is out this season but expected back for the next one. Doctors who were originally stumped now know what caused the brain hemorrhage. Price will undergo radiosurgery in coming days. Doctors say if all goes well he will be back on a basketball court in late summer.

“We miss A.J. right now,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “He was one of the top 10 or 15 high school players in the country last season. He’s quick as a cat.”

Price averaged 28.5 points as a high school senior and twice led Amityville (N.Y.) to state championships.

“A.J. is a true combo guard in the Joe Dumars sense,” UConn assistant coach George Blaney said. “He can play point or shooting guard because of his quickness, his passing and his range. He has a feel for the game that is rare in a kid so young.”

A legacy once rooted in basketball now gets counted in other ways, some as simple as breathing.

“I can wait for my ring,” the father said. “I’m just glad A.J. is still around to drive me crazy as a teenager.”

These days the son waits, too, until he can play again.

“It’s extremely hard to sit on the bench and watch,” Price said. “But I can do it. Patience is a virtue. I understand all about that now. I can wait my time.”