The Hoosiers have added a promising young guard to their lineup.
Indiana men’s basketball landed a commitment from former Washington State guard Myles Rice earlier today.
He’s a rising redshirt sophomore, so he still has three years of eligibility left and could be a longer-term answer at the position in Bloomington. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2021-22 Pullman before being diagnosed with a form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma ahead of the 2022-23 season and entering chemotherapy.
The Cougars were Rice’s only Power Five scholarship offer out of high school in Tyrone, Georgia. He was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
Scouting report
Rice is effective with the ball in his hands having averaged 14.8 points and 3.8 assists per game this past season with Washington State. He will in all likelihood start in Indiana’s backcourt as the kind of creator, for himself and others, that Indiana could’ve used next to Galloway and ahead of Gabe Cupps last year.
At 6’3”, 180 he has good size for the position.
Strengths
- Passing
- Scoring off the dribble
- Transition scoring
Weaknesses
- Shooting*
*Worth noting that there’s nothing wrong with his mechanics. Ball looks clean coming off his hands and there’s room for growth here.
Rice sees the court well as a passer and can run the pick-and-roll game with relative ease. His 2023-24 season assist rate of 22.7% jumps to 25.7% in Pac-12 play. The former number would’ve been good for second on last year’s roster after Trey Galloway (25.6). Woodson was able to run plenty of pick-and-rolls when he had Xavier Johnson/Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Look for Rice to form quick chemistry with Malik Reneau and any bigs Indiana adds through the portal, he’ll need them as a passer and scorer. He does plenty of his scoring off of ball screens, getting open from deep, driving for a midrange pull-up or going for the rim.
A point of emphasis for Mike Woodson’s Indiana has been pushing the pace and getting down the court in transition. He’s prioritized getting quicker and more athletic with his lead guards like Johnson, Hood-Schifino and Galloway getting out down the court with the ball and a head of steam.
Rice fits that mold. He’ll go for the ball on defense to take it to the cup on the other end of the court and seeks opportunities for himself and others on the fastbreak.
Conclusion
Landing Rice at all is big. He’s instantly the Hoosiers’ best creator from the perimeter and is in line to start. Landing him first is even better, he’s the kind of guard you can start to build a transfer class around.