OREM—Following successful careers as professional basketball players in the NBA and overseas, former Utah Valley University men's basketball standouts Ronnie Price and Ryan Toolson returned to the UVU to finish their degrees. The two walked at Utah Valley's graduation this past weekend and received their Bachelor of Science diplomas in university studies.
 
Price, a UVU Hall of Famer, played three seasons with the Wolverines from 2002-05 under head coach Dick Hunsaker. His first season in Orem was UVU's last season as a junior college. He averaged 24.3 points per game during his senior season, which ranked third in the NCAA in scoring. He was voted All-District 8 team by the United States Basketball Writers Association and was also named the NCAA Division I Independent Player of the Year.
 
Over his three seasons at Utah Valley, Price averaged 19.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in 89 games. In his last two years, which count in UVU's NCAA record books, he ranks first in career scoring (22.2) and second in points scored (1,245).

Price led the Wolverines to the NCAA Division I Provisional Championship in a last-second win at Florida Gulf Coast and earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. Following the season, Price was named to the NCAA Division I All-Independent Team.

Following his career at Utah Valley, Price signed with the Sacramento Kings, becoming the first player to go directly from Utah Valley to the NBA. He played 12 seasons in the NBA from 2005-2017 with six teams, including the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
 
Price is currently on Mark Madsen's staff at UVU as the team's director of player development.
 
Toolson enjoyed an extremely successful 11-year career overseas. He played for teams in Spain, Turkey, Russia, and Italy, including Pinar Karsiyaka, Benetton Treviso, Sutor Montegranaro, Allaga Petkim, Gran Canaria, Unicaja, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Istanbul BB, and Manresa. His European accolades include a Turkish League All-State appearance, All-Turkish League honors, All-Spanish ACB honors, Spanish ACB All-Imports team honors, Spanish Liga Endesa All-Imports team honors, All-VTB League honors, and VTB League All-Imports team honors.
 
Toolson played at Utah Valley during the 2003-04 season before serving an LDS Church mission to Guatemala from 2004-06. He then returned to play for the Wolverines from 2006-09. He is UVU's all-time leading scorer with 2,163 points—a record that may never be broken. He also holds UVU career records for field goals made (677), field goals attempted (1,421), three-point field goals made (315), three-point field goals attempted (730), three-point field goal percentage (43.2), free throws made (494), and free throw percentage (93.9).
 
The UVU all-time leading scorer played in major role in helping the university construct the NUVI Basketball Center. His generous financial contribution to the facility led to the practice center's basketball floor being named Ryan Toolson court.