Washington State transfer Myles Rice commits to Indiana
Washington State transfer Myles Rice committed to Indiana today.
The Pac-12 freshman of the year last season, Rice averaged 14.8 points, 3.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game last season for the Cougars.
Rice was named first-team All-Pac 12 and scored in double figures 27 times. He also won Pac-12 freshman of the week seven times.
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Rice entered the transfer portal after Kyle Smith took the Stanford job. Rice was a major driving force in Washington State winning 27 games and reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 seasons.
Out of high school, Rice was ranked just the 227th best prospect in the country by the 247Composite.
Rice, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard, missed the 2022-23 while undergoing chemotherapy treatments following a diagnosis of a form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He shot 43.9 percent from the field, 27.5 percent on 3s and 81.1 percent from the free-throw line in 33.2 minutes per game.
Here’s a scouting report on Rice from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic:
Rice arrived at Washington State in 2021 and decided to redshirt in order to maintain eligibility. Then before the 2022-23 season, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma and took a medical redshirt to recover, getting cleared to play again in June 2023. From the moment he stepped on the court, it was all systems go. He won first-team All-Pac-12 and the Pac-12 Rookie of the Year, leading Washington State to the NCAA Tournament and a second-place finish in the league while averaging 14.8 points and 3.8 assists per game.
Rice can pass, but his tendency right now is to get downhill and be a scorer. He plays at his own pace, utilizing hang dribbles to keep himself alive. From there, everything is available to him at all three levels. He’s extremely comfortable pulling up from midrange and from 3, although his shooting percentages in both areas were quite poor. Rice thrives when he can get all the way to the rim, where his 62 percent mark (per Synergy) was very strong for a high-major guard. He also showed some ability to play off the ball.
Rice only hit 27.5 percent of his 3s this season despite making 81 percent of his foul shots. There’s nothing clearly wrong with the shot, and he has good touch. If he starts hitting at around 35 percent from distance, he’ll be one of the best guards in the country next season. He could play at any program in the country, but it’ll be interesting to see whether he follows his coach Kyle Smith from Washington State to Stanford.
And Rice’s bio from his time at Washington State:
RS-FRESHMAN (2023-24) – Cleared and in remission as of June 2023, Rice practiced at full-strength throughout the summer and preseason.
RS-FRESHMAN (2022-23) – Medically redshirted the season while receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma … named the Student-Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Black Student-Athlete summit…received last chemotherapy treatment March 9, 2023.
FRESHMAN (2021-22) – Used his redshirt option in his first year at WSU.
HIGH SCHOOL – As a senior at Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.) was rated by multiple prep analysts as a top-50 senior point guard in the country, and a top-15 college basketball prospect in Georgia … led Sandy Creak to a 28-5 overall record and a perfect 14-0 league record in his one and only year … averaged 19.1 points, 6.0 assists, 2.4 steals, and 4.5 rebounds per game as a senior Sandy Creek … previously attended Eastside High School before transferring to Sandy Creek prior to his senior season … averaged 19.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and four assists per game as a junior at Eastside … played AAU for the highly-regarded Atlanta Celtics.
Filed to: Myles Rice, Transfer portal