Price is used to this role by now. He was about 5 feet 7 inches tall when he graduated from high school in Friendswood, Texas. To this day, his family continues to refer to him as "Little Ronnie," not exactly the kind of name that would endear him to college recruiters. If his size wasn't reason enough to ignore him, Price broke his wrist during his senior season.

He had to walk on to play college ball — at Nicholls State.

He stayed there a year and grew four inches. After a coaching change, he followed an assistant coach to UVSC, where he fell under the tutelage of Hunsaker. It was an unlikely proving ground for a future NBA player. The Wolverines played wherever they could get a game — Bethany College, IU-Northwest in Indiana, Southern Virginia, College of Southern Idaho ...19 road games in all during one season.

"Ronnie was our third best player that first year," says Hunsaker.

A late bloomer, Price, who grew to 6 feet 2 inches, improved dramatically each season, and he played every game like a guy on 20 cups of coffee, hustling for steals, getting back on defense, his feet constantly moving. He averaged 20 points per game as a junior and 24 as a senior. In one game, with an NBA scout present to watch another player, he scored 30 points in the first half. "Best shooting performance I've seen," the scout told Hunsaker. He scored 36 points in his final home game, played in front of 3,500 fans and received a standing ovation.

Price went undrafted by an NBA team.

He was essentially a walk-on again.

"I was disappointed," he says, "because I thought I had had good workouts (for NBA teams)."

The Sacramento Kings offered him a two-year guaranteed contract, which is almost unheard of for undrafted free agents. After playing out his contract with the Kings, he signed with the Jazz last year.

"He made 50 percent leaps in improvement for three years," says Hunsaker. "He's still in the improvement mode, without question. He's in such a wonderful system now. I couldn't have scripted it better for his progression, from going to the Kings and then to the Jazz. I always said the best thing for him would be to sit on the bench in the NBA and watch and learn for a couple of years, and he's done that. We're just starting to see what he can do."

For his part, Price remains patient, as always. "I've been really blessed that everything happened in the order it happened in," he says. "Everything happened for a reason. Everything fell into place. If I had been the height I am now in high school, I might not have gone to the schools I attended, and maybe I wouldn't have played for Coach Hunsaker. He's been the one who prepared me the most for this. Now I'm trying to enjoy my time in the league."

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E-mail: drob@desnews.com