No longer ‘afraid of being great,’ Wayne standout Rice in midst of special season

“My grandpa taught me how to use both hands, so from then on, it was just more natural to do it with my right hand,” Rice said. “It feels better with the right.”

That feel for the game is why he’s good at making his teammates better by setting them up with shots that are good for them.

“What really sets him apart and makes him unique is that he makes everybody else better around him,” Wayne coach Nate Martindale said. “He’s probably the most unselfish scorer that we’ve ever had here.”

That feel is why he leads the Greater Western Ohio Conference in scoring (24.6), rebounding (9.0) and steals (3.1), and is second in assists (5.1).

“He has the most unique skill set I’ve ever coached,” Martindale said. “We’ve had a lot of Division I players here, but he’s phenomenal at using both hands, is really, really good at finishing at the rim and he can obviously shoot the ball.”

Rice’s feel for what matters goes beyond the court. That’s why when Rice made his college decision his reasons didn’t surprise those closest to him. Those on the outside certainly wondered why Rice didn’t choose one of the following Power 5 offers: Ohio State, Purdue, Louisville, Kansas State, Rutgers or West Virginia. He enjoyed the recruiting visits, but he had a feeling.

“The reality of it is, they’re telling a whole bunch of other guys the same thing,” Rice said.

Then last summer, along came mid-major Murray State and head coach Steve Prohm, who returned to his previous job last March after six seasons at Iowa State. The Racers moved from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Missouri Valley Conference this year. Murray State, where current NBA superstar Ja Morant played, is in southwest Kentucky near the Tennessee border, more than a six-hour drive from Huber Heights and in the city of Murray, population 17,000.

“The name to me, it doesn’t really matter,” Rice said. “A lot of people like the name and how it looks, but it was really what you feel. I felt the love from Murray State and I really felt wanted there.”

Rice, who is 6-foot-3, said Prohm has a track record of playing freshmen and developing players like Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton. Rice, like Haliburton was, is a three-star recruit.

“I can see myself playing there as a freshman,” Rice said.

That would be a repeat of his high school career. Rice grew up in the program, listened to Wayne win the Division I state title on the radio in 2015 and set goals for himself and the program. Martindale knew what he had Rice’s freshman year, but he didn’t want to make him the point guard right away against bigger and stronger upperclassmen.

As a freshman he averaged 9.4 points and 4.0 assists, deferring to Malcolm Curry, who now plays at Wittenberg. As a sophomore playing the point he averaged 13.8 and 5.1, deferring to Prophet Johnson and sharing the supporting scoring role with Curry. As a junior he became the guy, averaged 20.8 and 6.2, led the Warriors to their first district title since 2018 and was selected second-team all-state.

This season is about challenging for a GWOC title, getting back to regionals and setting school records. In the second game of the season, Rice broke Travis Trice’s single-game scoring record with 46 against Miamisburg. This past Tuesday he scored 35 in a triple-overtime win at Fairmont to surpass Trice as the career scoring leader. Trice scored 1,555 points. Rice sits at 1,572 points entering Friday’s game at Centerville.

“In the past I was kind of afraid of being great,” Rice said. “Forty-six points, that’s a lot to ask, and I wouldn’t have ever really thought of doing that. Not being afraid to take those shots, always staying aggressive, having my teammates have that confidence in me, coming in at 5 a.m. getting shots up, things like that. The confidence that has been put into me throughout these years, I’m really starting to see the benefits from it.”

Still, Martindale has to remind Rice to shoot. He embraces his roles of leader, passer, defender and rebounder. But shooting? Yes, there are still times, though not as often as in the past, that he needs that reminder.

“Most guys have that mentality where I’m going to score, score, score, score, score,” Martindale said. “With Lawrent, I have to tell him, ‘Hey, you have to be more aggressive. You have to look for your shot more.’ He tries to make the right basketball play, and sometimes that hurts his scoring.”

A big part of his scoring is his ability to shoot with both hands. In fact, when he shoots a 3-pointer that’s about the only time he uses his left hand. He likes to dunk with his right, play through contact at the rim with his right, shoot those impossible-to-block floaters with his right. He even throws a football with his right. But when he bowls, he goes with either hand. And everyone from college recruiters to little kids ask him about it.

He just shrugs and tells them he does what feels natural in the moment. It’s the same way he responds to Martindale during the summer AAU season when he returns from a tournament. Martindale asks him how it went, and Rice will same something like, “I did pretty well, coach.” But Martindale already knows that Rice’s team won the tournament and he was the MVP.

“Some kids are like, ‘Coach, I was dominating this week. I was doing this, I was doing that,’” Martindale said. “They want to run around and show you what they did. But he’s not really like that, which I think is really special.”