Price’s best friend, former Duke teammate Chris Carrawell, persuaded him to come back around campus. One day, Price and Krzyzewski saw each other in Cameron. They talked in the locker room. Price said they each apologized. They came out friends again.
“He thought that he could come in (after missing the first semester) and play right away,” Krzyzewski said in an email, “and I should have intervened and told him the guys he thought he was better than at that time actually had four months of preparation and were ahead of him. Not totally, but at that point in time, they were ahead of him. It would have been better to sit out. That’s one decision I would have liked to change. We both have responsibility for making the wrong decision at the time.”
Finding a lane
After his playing career at Duke, Price finished his degree with a major in sociology and a minor in history. He played nine years of pro ball overseas. He had several NBA tryouts and played in four preseason games.
After playing, Price became an agent for overseas players and dabbled in TV and radio. Then he found his niche with his new company. Carrawell said he’s never seen his friend this happy.
Today, Price is active in Duke’s basketball camps and its corporate-education program through the Fuqua School of Business. Krzyzewski said he’s as close to Price now as any of his former players because they see each other so often.
“I thought he was a really good kid, but he’s a better man,” Krzyzewski said, “He’s a better man having gone through the experiences he has. He’s intelligent. He gets along so well with people. He’s a team player. We’re very close right now.”
Price said he’s using a lot of the lessons Coach K taught him when he’s trying to help others. He said he can see bits of himself in the kids with whom he works.
That personal touch struck a chord with Joanne Campione, who took her 15-year-old son, Chris, to Price several months back.
Chris didn’t make the Charlotte Catholic junior varsity last year, but his mother said Price has helped transform his game – and his outlook.
“Ricky gives a great workout, but it’s also a mentoring-type thing,” Campione said. “He’s very encouraging. He’s helped Chris with his confidence as much as his game. Ricky’s very good, but he’s also very genuine.”
Chris said: “Ricky has brought the best in how I can play. He never wants you to give less than 100 percent. He said that works in life, too. In education, he said you have to give everything you’ve got. He’s just a great teacher and a role model.”