Hokie hoops Signing Day capsule: Rodney Rice
The biggest piece of Virginia Tech's 2022 recruiting class is... the smallest. Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha point guard Rodney Rice is the second-highest ranked VT basketball commit of the modern era, behind only former (and now NBA) standout Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
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Rankings
Four-star. No. 44 overall nationally, No. 11 point guard nationally
Other suitors
Alabama, Connecticut, Georgetown, Howard, IUPUI, Illinois, LSU, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Providence, Rhode Island, Richmond, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Wyoming
Recruitment story
Rice was a longtime member of Virginia Tech's recruiting board, but for much of the process, one who looked like he may be a pipe dream for the staff to actually land. A Rivals top-50 prospect from one of the nation's strongest hoops powerhouses is... the type of player that Virginia Tech hasn't been able to snag in the past. That changed when assistant coach Chester Frazier departed for Illinois, specifically because the replacement was Rice's former high school coach at DeMatha, Mike Jones.
Even with Jones on staff, it was hard to see past Rice's connections to Louisville. He took unofficial visits to both schools (along with Alabama, which eventually formed the also-ran portion of his final three) in June. He then took official visits to VT and Louisville on back-to-back weekends in early September. While he finished those visits with the Cardinals slightly ahead, the Hokies' staff felt a little bit of patience would see them surge into the lead, and that's exactly what came to fruition when he made his choice Oct. 3.
Game breakdown
A 6-4 player with a good outside shot, Rice may seem like a shooting guard, but he has the ball skills and vision - and playmaking ability - to be a pure point guard at the next level. He uses his size well to get into the paint, and can rise up in the lane to hit floaters and layups. Despite being a skinnier guy, he's comfortable shooting and finishing in traffic.
He also has good vision to lay off to cutting teammates for easy baskets in distribution. More rare for a player at his position, he actually does a good job recognizing and executing those same off-ball cuts himself, allowing easy buckets from short range.
Film
Statistically speaking
As a junior playing for a powerhouse program, Rice put up eye-opening numbers (even though the nature of the roster means sharing the load). He scored 18.3 points, and recorded 3.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per game last season.
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