March 12, 2013
THE FLATS – Mark Price, who helped lead Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball to prominence in the 1980’s, was named winner of the 2013 Steve Schmidt Outstanding Contribution to Georgia Basketball award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. Bobby Cremins will present Price with the award at the 2013 Atlanta Tipoff Club Naismith Awards Banquet presented by AT&T and Newell Rubbermaid, to be held on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Atlanta.
“I am very honored and excited to be given such a great award by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Since coming to Georgia Tech in 1982, Atlanta has become my home so to receive this honor means a lot,” said Price. “To have my name next to the previous winners of this award is both an honor and a privilege.”
“Mark Price’s contribution to basketball in Georgia begin with his play at Tech, and the foundation he helped build under the Bobby Cremins regime,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “It is an honor for our organization to recognize Mark for his substantial and noteworthy basketball achievements.” Price led his state class in scoring both his junior and senior years at Enid High School in Bartlesville, Okla., where he tied his father’s state-tournament scoring record of 42 points in the first round of the 1982 playoffs.
At Tech, he became one of only four players in ACC history to earn first- or second-team All-ACC honors in each of his four varsity seasons. He led the conference in scoring as a freshman, and was named the ACC Most Valuable Player for the 1984-85 season. A three-time All-American, he was a first-team selection in 1985. Price also led the Jackets to in 1984 and NCAA appearances in 1985 and 1986, as Tech reached the NCAA East Regional finals in 1985 and the Southeast Region semifinals in 1986. He was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy as the Men’s Player of the Year as a senior.
He was selected 25th overall in 1986 by the Dallas Mavericks and then traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a draft day trade, Price was considered one of the league’s most consistent shooters.
After the 1988-89 season, he became only the second player, after Larry Bird, to shoot at least 40% from 3-point range, at least 50% from the field, and at least 90% from the free throw line. A two-time NBA 3-point Shootout champion, four-time NBA All-Star, and five-time All-NBA honoree, Price’s number 25 jersey has been retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After retiring in 1998 Price joined the coaching staff at Duluth High school before joining his former head coach, Bobby Cremins, as an assistant at Tech. For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.
The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.
