The final birthday present of the day was the sweetest surprise for Jordan Price. One day after having his heart broken in the state basketball tournament, the McCallie sophomore left Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena with reason to smile on his 16th birthday, having been named the Division II-AA Mr. Basketball award winner.
He is the first McCallie player to win the award and the first sophomore to win it since former Brentwood Academy All-American Brandon Wright in 2004. Wright went on to the University of North Carolina.
“I was very surprised and honored just to be up for the award, much less win it,” Price said. “The other two nominees were seniors and in the championship, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I was surprised to win it.
“Now it motivates me to work harder and get better for next year. It also gives me a lot more confidence to do even more and help us win more next year.”
The 6-foot-5 Price transferred to McCallie this season and averaged 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He made 48 percent of his shots from the field and had a game-high 21 points in the Blue Tornado’s three-point semifinal loss to Christian Brothers on Friday.
“It’s such a great honor for Jordan and our whole program and school,” McCallie coach Dan Wadley said. “He represents the school really well, so we’re all very happy for him. For him to catch everybody’s eye as a sophomore speaks highly of what he has done.”
The award was announced following Saturday night’s state championship game, and the other two finalists were seniors Frankie Bougher of Chrisitan Brothers and Holden Mobley of Montgomery Bell Academy. Mobley scored 16 points and was named state tournament MVP after leading MBA to a 53-47 victory over Christian Brothers in the final.