Former Oklahoma All-American Hollis Price has joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program as its director of player development, head coach Kelvin Sampson announced Thursday.
In that role, Price will be responsible for a wide variety of tasks essential to the program’s success and will be reunited with his collegiate head coach in Sampson, who guided the Sooners from 1994 to 2006.
"Hollis is going to wear a lot of hats around here, because we are going to use him in a lot of ways. He is going to work with the coaching staff. He is going to work with (Director of Operations) Steve Yoder. He will be working on projects and will be a mentor for the players’ individual strengths and weaknesses," Sampson said. "Having someone like Hollis will be invaluable for our program because of his experiences and the way he became a great player. We are fortunate to have a man like Hollis. This is a great hire for us and for our student-athletes."
Price, who is a native of New Orleans, joins the Cougars after serving as an assistant coach with the Texas Legends in the NBA Developmental League during the 2013-14 season. He served under head coach Eduardo Najera, who also competed for Sampson at Oklahoma from 1996 to 2000.
"There was no better place to continue working than with Coach Sampson," Price said. "I was excited that he thought about me to bring me into this position and to give me an opportunity to be on his staff."
Price entered the coaching ranks with the Legends after a nine-year professional career overseas. From 2003 to 2011, he competed for Alba Berlin (2010-11 and 2005-06); Artland Dragons (2010); Olympia Milano (2009); Dynamo Moscow (2008-09); Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (2007-08); Cajasol Sevilla (2006-07) and Le Mans France (2003-05)
He was honored as the Most Valuable Player of the Lithuania Basketball League and competed in several international competitions, including the France Cup and the Germany Cup.
Price was a decorated student-athlete during his playing career at Oklahoma from 1999 to 2003. As a senior during the 2002-03 campaign, he was named to the Associated Press All-America Second Team after averaging 18.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game while leading the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.
He set an OU single-season record by nailing 92.9 percent of his free throws and finished as the school’s career leader with an 86.1 free throw percentage. By the time that his collegiate career was done, Price racked up 110 victories, setting a Sooner record.
As a junior in 2001-02, he led the Sooners to the NCAA Tournament Final Four after averaging 16.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. With numbers like that, he was named to the All-Big 12 First Team by the league’s coaches and media and was an All-America Third-Team honoree by The Sporting News.
Price finished third in voting for the John Wooden Award, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate player, and was a member of the Big 12’s All-Defense Team.
During the 2000-01 campaign, he was honored as the Most Valuable Player of the Sooner Invitational and the Big Island Invitational and was voted to the Big 12 Championship’s All-Tournament Team.
As a prep star at New Orleans’ St. Augustine High, Price was recognized as one of the nation’s top-50 seniors and led the team to the Class 5A state crown while being named the state tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Price received his bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies from Oklahoma in 2011 and was named to the Dean’s List in 1999. He is engaged to Michel Dabon, and has a son, Hollis Price II, and a stepson, Kalil Thomas.
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