Hollis Price still living life in Europe

James Hale:  We welcome former Sooner great Hollis Price to the program.  Hollis welcome and how are you doing?

Hollis Price:  Doing well, thanks James, although I don’t know that I would put myself into the Sooner Great category.

JH:  Well that’s something we will certainly argue with you about. 

PJ Mills:  Hollis talk about that run to the final four.  Everything fell into place for you guys.  Talk about that and talk about your decision to attend OU.

HP:  When I got to Oklahoma, they were coming off a sweet sixteen appearance.  I think it was ’99 when they lost to Michigan State.  It was interesting coming to Oklahoma, a team that was starting a reputation back then with Billy Tubbs as the coach and they were running and gunning and beating everybody by 30 points.  Then it was a slow down and grind it out game with Coach Sampson.  We would always find ways to win but we were always ready to play.  But, in the end, coming to OU was the best decision I could have possibly made and I couldn’t have made a better decision. 

JH:  You were part of a great back court.  Everyone still talks about how good you and Quannas White were.  You had a special group of guards.

HP:  That was special.  Me and Quannas go all the way back to high school.  We were high school team mates, so it was a very easy adjustment.  It seemed that he always knew what I was thinking and I knew what he was thinking.  That chemistry went all the way back to our freshman year of high school and just kept going.  Once he got to OU it was really special. We made a run for the Final Four his first year and we came close to getting there our last year.  That would have been a great book if we could have made it to the Final Four our senior year.  We lost to eventual champion Syracuse, who ended up beating the top six Big 12 schools.

PJ:  Do you have a favorite game while you were playing at OU?

HP:  I have so many favorite games.  But, I think the game that really sticks out was my senior night against Texas.  That game is always a battle, and that night was no exception.  We had everything clicking in the first half and it came down to the wire in the second half.  It was a great battle that night.

JH:  It always looked like you played the game with a really great joy.  I remember one instance in particular where your big guys are pulling down rebound after rebound and finally get the shot put back in and you let out a tremendous yell when they finally scored.  It just appeared that you really loved the game more than you loved to score.

HP:  You have to love the game, you can’t just enjoy it.  The joy for me is seeing what my team mates can do during the game.  I think that what a great team mate does and what a great leader does.  He enjoys it when other people do something great to help the team.  I can be selfish and not worry about what the other player do.  But that’s not what the captain and leader of your basketball team does.

I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Sampson.  I really think all that stuff was drilled into us.  All the team drills that we did just proved that you eventually get rewarded.  From the bubble drills to the hustle plays, all that stuff was drilled into us.  So I think Coach Sampson get a lot of credit for drilling that stuff into us.

PJ:  Hollis, you were one of the best free throw shooters in OU history.  Do you have a secret and can you give some tips to youngsters out there.

HP:  I can only give one tip, and this came from my grandfather.  He said; don’t ever let anyone see you down.  In other words, if you miss one don’t get down with your body language.  It is, what it is, a free throw.  Don’t back away from the free throw line.  You never see me back away no matter what.  I will always stay on that line. 

JH:  Let’s talk about that Final Four game against Indiana. I’ve always contended that the ball was slick or something.  The ball seemed to be coming off of everyone’s hands in a weird way, what was going on that day.

HP:  I really have no idea.  I wish I could see the game again.  But honestly, when you get into those giant arenas that we played in, the back drop is totally different than what we had ever seen before.   It was tough going down there. I shot terribly; I think I hit three of ten.  But, what a lot of people don’t know is what kind of practice we had before that.  I think that was the hardest practice we ever had plus Quannas was hurt that game.  So, it kind of took away from what we had. 

PJ:  Hollis, talk about what you have going on these days.

HP:  Most recently I’ve been in Norman for the OU Fantasy Camp.  But, other than that, I’ve been in Europe for the past seven years.  I’ve been playing all over Europe, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, you name it and I’ve been there.  It’s been a great journey for me.  I hope to play a few more years and then come back and coach or do something in Oklahoma hopefully. 

JH:  Hollis, it sound like you have established yourself as one of the key players in Europe. You’re very popular over there.  You don’t have any trouble finding a team.  It sounds like things are going pretty well for you over there.

HP:  I have to say that I’m blessed.  I’m still able to play the game that I love and I’m able to make a living doing it.  I’m not sure that there are that many people who get to earn a living by doing what they really want to do, so I’m very fortunate to be able to do that. 

PJ:  Talk about being an American basketball player over there.

HP:  These past couple of years have been really different for me.  I signed a big contract in Russia and sometimes they don’t pay what they say they’re going to pay and you have to put certain things in your contract to protect you.  So, fortunately I was protected from some of the things that happened to the Russian team. 

Sometimes that happens and sometimes everything is good.  But it’s tough.  Being an American, you’re expected to score and if you don’t you’re the first one to go.  It’s certainly not as stable as the NBA.

JH:  Talk about your time at the Fantasy Camp.  I guess you had a chance to get with some of those other guys like Alvin and Harvey Grant and some of those guys.

HP:  It was awesome.  I which we could have done this when I was in school.  I wish I could have met these guys a long time ago.  There’s a lot of former players that I got to meet for the first time.  I used to see their names and pictures in the hall but have never met them.  So it was great to come back and be able to see these guys.  I tell you what, if we had had Blake on our team, we would have been national champions. 

JH:  Hollis we talked to you a few years back after the hurricane hit New Orleans.  How’s your family doing and what’s the latest.

HP:  My immediate family is still living in Houston.  My family has found jobs and everyone is pretty comfortable in Houston. I’m not sure Houston is really home, because the people in Oklahoma are the one that really helped us out during that time.  They’re the ones that I call family.

JH:  Hollis, thanks so much for spending time with us.