Serra Adds Big Gun in Guard Price : Basketball: Former Long Beach St. Anthony standout, who is rated among top prep players on West Coast, will play senior season for Cavaliers.

Rick Price, regarded as one of the premier prep players on the West Coast, will transfer from Long Beach St. Anthony to Serra in the fall.

“I’m excited,” said Price, a senior guard who also considered transferring to Bishop Montgomery. “The guys (at Serra) have accepted me more. I like the school for its academic and athletic potential.”

The 6-foot-6 Price has been a varsity starter since his freshman year. Last season he averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists and was selected to The Times’ South Coast All-Star team and to the Southern Section Division IV first team.

Price will be a welcome addition to the Cavaliers, who won Southern Section Division IV-AA and State Division IV titles last season. Serra lost its starting lineup to graduation.

Price, 17, became disenchanted with the coaching turnover at St. Anthony. The team finished 11-15 last season and the school recently hired Nick Colon, its fifth coach in three years and its third in 10 months.

“Their was constant turmoil at St. Anthony,” Price said. “A lot of the good teachers were not hired back. I was tired of all the changes.”

Price played for Bishop Montgomery in the Santa Ana Mater Dei tournament and Serra in the Artesia tournament in recent weeks.

Price’s stock increased with college coaches at the ABCD camp July 5-8 in Ypsilanti, Mich., where he was named a top 10 player. He has been contacted by more than 250 colleges and lists Kansas, Arizona, California, UCLA, USC, Duke, Arkansas, Memphis State, Ohio State and Cal State Long Beach among schools of interest.

Price has satisfied the minimum requirements to be eligible as a college freshman, according to NCAA guidelines. He recently scored 850 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and has a 2.5 grade-point average.

During his three years at St. Anthony, Price had four basketball coaches, three athletic directors and two principals.