NC State Basketball
NC State Guard MJ Rice Will Be Returning Soon After Stepping Away for a Period of Time
NC State Guard MJ Rice (6’5″/215) announced yesterday that due to personal reasons, he had to step away from the basketball program, but was excited to be back with his teammates soon. He was clear that his commitment to NC State hasn’t wavered.
(Tweet)
Life is much bigger than sports. These young men are human beings first and foremost, and as we all know, this life is never simple and easy.
Rice transferred to NC State this offseason from Kansas with three years of eligibility remaining. The former High School McDonald’s All-American didn’t get a lot of playing time in his Freshman season at Kansas, averaging 7.6 minutes per game in only 23 games played.
Coming out of Prolific Prep in California, Rice averaged 20.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a Senior. Rivals ranked him as a 5-star prospect, ON3 ranked him 24th nationally, and ESPN ranked him as the #1 player in the state of North Carolina.
Whatever Rice is working through, we value him as a person more than we do a player.
NC State Basketball
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ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.
Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.
Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.
Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.
Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)
Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.
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This is not the first instance personal or family issues. This guy has had a long trip with multiple obstacles since before he went from high school to basketball prep in California much less Kansas. Hope life settles down for him soon.
Weird. So, on the one hand, PackInsider says he announced yesterday that he’s going to return and is excited to be back “soon”, which would indicate he’s going away for a while, starting Wednesday. On the other hand, Pack Pride says, “Having Rice back gives State a truly versatile player that can be utilized anywhere from the 2 through 4 spots on the court. With the depth the Wolfpack has all across the board, Rice will battle for a starting spot or could be one of the top reserves in his first year with the team.” Perhaps it’s my editor’s… Read more »
Just my opinion, but it should have read, When Rice returns, State will have a truly versatile player that can be utilized anywhere from the 2 through 4 spots on the court. With the depth the Wolfpack has all across the board, Rice will battle for a starting spot or could be one of the top reserves in his first year with the team.
While the gist of the message is clear, the timing isn’t.
And is he solid academically or did he step away from that too? The semester started a month ago.
You hope this is a one time thing, resolved and behind him, and not an early warning sign of a pattern.