William Dennis "Denny" Price (January 28, 1938 – July 7, 2000) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. He played for the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

(OU) and the

Phillips 66ers The Phillips 66ers (also known as the Oilers) were an amateur basketball team located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, sponsored and run by the Phillips Petroleum Company. The 66ers were a national phenomenon that grew from a small-town team to an orga ...

. He then embarked on a coaching career at Oklahoma, the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

and Sam Houston State. He was the father of former

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) players

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

and Brent Price. Born and raised in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

, Price came to the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

out of

Norman High School Norman High School is a four-year Public school (government funded), public high school in Norman, Oklahoma, with a steady enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. It is accredited by North Central Association, the Oklahoma State Department ...

to play for coach

Doyle Parrack Doyle Kenneth Parrack (December 6, 1921 – September 5, 2008) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Parrack was born in Cotton County, Oklahoma, and played basketball at Connors Jr. College and Oklahoma State University–St ...

. He played both

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and basketball there, earning All-

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

honors in both. After graduating from OU, Price played five seasons for the

of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU), earning

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1962 and 1963. Following his playing career, Price turned to coaching, first at Shawnee High School in Oklahoma, then accepting an assistant coaching position at his alma mater under head coach John MacLeod in 1969. When MacLeod left the Sooners to become coach of the

's expansion

in 1973, Price followed to become the franchise's first assistant coach. After two seasons, Price realized his goal of becoming a head coach, taking the head coaching position at

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

in 1975. He resigned after four seasons with a record of 35–71. Price spent several years in business before accepting an offer to become head men's coach and athletic director at

Phillips University Phillips University was a private university in Enid, Oklahoma. It opened in 1906 and closed in 1998. It was affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It included an undergraduate college and a graduate seminary. The university ...

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County, Oklahoma, Garfield County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the openin ...

, in 1986. He retired from the men's team in 1993, but took on coaching the women's team when the previous coach was fired during the 1995–96 season, holding this role until the school closed in 1998. His last coaching job came as coach of the Oklahoma Storm of the United States Basketball League (USBL) in 2000. Price died on July 7, 2000, of a heart attack while playing basketball with his sons.

References

External links

College playing statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Denny 1938 births 2000 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Oklahoma Basketball players from Oklahoma College men's basketball head coaches in the United States College women's basketball coaches in the United States Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Oklahoma Oklahoma Sooners baseball players Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball coaches Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Phillips 66ers players Phillips Haymakers athletic directors Phillips Haymakers men's basketball coaches Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Norman, Oklahoma United States Basketball League coaches Norman High School alumni