Rodney Rice, who joined the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team as a highly touted recruit last year, has left the Hokies.
Virginia Tech coach Mike Young announced the sophomore guard’s exit Tuesday.
“Rodney Rice recently shared with me his desire to step away from our program,” Young said in a statement. “While his departure is unfortunate, we wish Rodney and his family all the best in the future.”
Rice
Young is set to meet with the press at ACC men’s basketball media day in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
Rice played in only eight games during an injury-plagued freshman season but was expected to get plenty of playing time this season. Rice averaged 7.4 points and 19.9 minutes off the bench last season.
While Rice’s exit is a blow to the Hokies, the team does at least have backcourt depth.
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Sean Pedulla is the returning starter at point guard; freshman Brandon Rechsteiner can back him up. Hunter Cattoor and MJ Collins are the returning starters at off-guard. North Carolina transfer Tyler Nickel and John Camden can also play on the wing. Freshman Jaydon Young is also a guard.
Mike Young had said at the team’s media day on Oct. 3 that the group of guards would be a “real strength” this season.
“The depth, experience, that will be … a real strong suit of this team. It better be,” he said at that time.
Young had said that day that he envisioned playing Rice, Pedulla and Cattoor at the same time.
“I have no heartburn whatsoever playing those three together,” Young said on Oct. 3.
Rice was expected to play both off-guard and point guard this season.
“Rodney will play some at the point, if not a lot, and relieve Sean of some of that burden,” Young said on Oct. 3.
Rice was rated the No. 45 player in the high school graduating class of 2022 by ESPN. But he broke his right ankle in August 2022 while working out back home in Maryland. He underwent surgery that month. He did not make his Tech debut until a Jan. 11 loss at Syracuse.
Before the team’s following game, Tech announced Rice had broken a finger in his right hand at the end of a practice. He underwent another operation. So Rice did not play his second game for Tech until Feb. 21.
Rice played in the final seven games last season. He had 11 points and three 3-pointers in a loss at Duke. He had 10 points and four 3-pointers in a win over Florida State.
In an ACC Tournament first-round win over Notre Dame, Rice made a key 3-pointer with 1:53 left. He scored 17 points in the team’s second-round loss to North Carolina State.
Rice played high school basketball at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland. He was coached there by Mike Jones, who left DeMatha Catholic in May 2021 to become a Tech assistant. When Rice picked Virginia Tech, his father told The Roanoke Times that the relationships that the elder Rice and the younger Rice had with Jones factored into Rice’s decision.
But Jones left the Tech staff in April of this year to join the staff at Maryland.
Rice played sparingly in the Hokies’ open practice at Cassell Coliseum two weekends ago, but he appeared healthy.
According to the Virginia courts website, Rice was recently charged with a speeding infraction for going 50 mph in a 25-mph zone. The offense date was Oct. 17; the offense was filed two days later. He is due to appear in Montgomery County General District Court in Christiansburg on Dec. 7.
