When we talk about the best players in the ACC, we go with the old familiars.
Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Jack McClinton, Kyle Sigler, and Jeff Teague come to mind fairly quickly.
It's easy to forget Tyrese Rice of the Boston College Eagles.
In fact, I think most people have a hard time remembering BC actually is in the ACC.
Well Tyrese Rice, the Rodney Dangerfield of the ACC, simply cannot get respect.
Let's face it kids, Rice is not just a good player, he is a great player. He has all the intangibles that separate the mundane from the magnificent and yesterday's performance was just a microcosm of what makes the former L.C. Bird superstar so special.
Rice has averaged 17 points or more the past three seasons alongside over five assists per game, shooting 212 three pointers and an impressive 82 percent at the free-throw line.
Still, Rice is much more than just stats; he has been burdened with the tough role of leading an incredibly young team and has grown through that process physically and mentally.
The Eagles certainly had their struggles last season, mainly because Rice did not have the talent and experience around him to produce what everyone ultimately cares about: winning.
Believe me, if Rice were at Duke or North Carolina, he would be slurped on a daily basis and projected as a No. 1 draft pick.
Maybe Rice won't go No. 1 this summer in the NBA Draft, but I do think Rice may be the best guard in the country, better than even Stephen Curry.
Why?
Rice has an incredible touch and a knack for scoring as I said. He can shoot from all over the floor and he does a tremendous job throwing his body around. He can take the punishment and make them pay at the line.
Rice is so durable, he averaged 38 minutes a game last season.
Think about that, 38 out of 40 minutes, game in and game out. People focused their entire defense on him and they simply could not stop him.
I know it might be easy to pad stats in all those minutes, but Rice has not only played well in the clutch but on the biggest stages.
Last night's performance was no fluke, last year against the Heels, Rice scored a career-high 46 points.
Against Wake Forest, he scored 32 points.
Still, don't call him a ball hog.
Rice has proven this year that he is more than just a scorer by bringing along Rakim Sanders and Reggie Jackson to give the Eagles a much needed front court offensive presence.
Rice did a tremendous job of getting them open looks against the Tar Heels; he did an even better job of keeping them calm and composed in one of the toughest places to play in the country.
That sort of leadership is something that players aren't always blessed with, but Rice has it.
He also has a strong sense of discipline and duty, a critical aspect often overlooked when picking NBA caliber college players from out of the crowd.
Rice is not the kind of guy to go home clubbing after a big win, he would rather stay at home with his two-year old son Ashawn or practice in the gym.
Rice really can do anything for any team and he has Boston College proving everyone wrong when they were selected 11th in the ACC preseason polls.
So can he get some love, please!?
25 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jonny Solovy 6 months ago
I've loved Rice these past few years... he is a flat out stud.. especially for his size. If he played for any other team besides BC he would get the recognition. Rice typically plays his best against good teams and in big games... love Rice and Bc's defense
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
Couldn't agree more Jonny, thanks for the read. Rice is a prime time player and has more memorable moments in store this year in the ACC.
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Richard DeLancey 6 months ago
I think he scored like 50 on UNC last year....
He is a stud...serious All American contender.
Great article.
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
46 to be exact, but who's counting. Thanks for the vote Richard and the read. Means a lot coming from a great writer like you.
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Jameson Fleming 6 months ago
I had Rice in my top five guards in America that I wrote in the preseason, I dropped him out of the top 20 because he hadn't been nearly as productive when I redid the list a couple weeks ago. With his latest surge against, if I do the list again, he'll probably find his way back onto it somewhere.
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
Well that's because you know what you're talking about. You make a good point that game against St. Louis had to be a disaster with 6 points and 6 turnovers but over the past five games Rice has averaged 21 points and over 8 assists.
I think it just took this young team some time to gel and though they will still have some growing pains in the ACC, Rice's numbers should continue to impress.
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Jameson Fleming 6 months ago
Other than checking up on Rice for my rankings, BC really fell off my radar until the UNC win which was probably pretty stupid. I watched them against both Purdue and UAB and was pretty impressed by the overall talent of the team. They gave Purdue a pretty good game and beat UAB, a team I was very high on before the season.
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Steve Auger 6 months ago
Rice was 1st team All-ACC last year. How much more respect does he need? He lit up UNC for 46 last year. People know how good he is.
"Believe me, if Rice were at Duke or North Carolina, he would be slurped on a daily basis and projected as a No. 1 draft pick."
That is just the way it goes.
And you're right that.....
"I think most people have a hard time remembering BC actually is in the ACC."
BC is out of place in the ACC. I understand why they went but they don't belong. I think there will always be a majority of people that feel they're an outsider to the conference.
I'm not trying top pick on them. Just stating observations from someone who lives in the Boston market.
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
I see your point Steve and it may be true, I really don't know. I just don't think many people, particularly outside of the ACC really do know much about Tyrese Rice.
Yeah he was a first team All-ACC selection in 2007 but ask an ordinary sports fan to guess the five and I bet most people would have left him off.
The ACC fans know about him because they have seen some of the incredible plays he and only a few others can pull off but I think it is performances like last night which should give him more presence in the national discussion over the best guards in the country.
By the way, I have to agree with you about BC and the ACC, it is an odd marriage. I'm not sure if it will ever seem natural.
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Jameson Fleming 6 months ago
I'll trade USF (despite not actually being on the Atlantic Coast) to the ACC to get Boston College back to the Big East.
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
I think most ACC teams would be okay with that trade too Jameson haha, an easy ACC basketball win and a fun wrinkle to the football race.
Let's e-mail Swofford.
P.S. The ACC lost all respect for its name when they placed both Virginia schools in the "Coastal" Division. Charlottesville and Blacksburg are about 3-6 hours from the coast respectively.
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Steve Auger 6 months ago
I agree Jameson. I'd even trade Rutgers too...a two for one. BC is clearly out of place in the ACC.
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Steve Auger 6 months ago
Here is where I think your argument is flawed: The "average sports fan" will have no clue who (other than Hansbrough....because he was the face of college hoops last year) who was on the all-ACC team. I'm a college hoops junkie but yet I'd need to go back and look at rosters to guess who the all-ACC team was (Hansbrough, Rice, DeMarcus Nelson, and I'm not sure who the other 2 are).
People who follow college hoops sweriously know who the guy is. NBA personnel know who he is. Part of his p;roblme was last year BC was terrible so BC got no pub. Also, Boston always has been and always will be a pro sports town so no matter what BC does, they take a back seat.
BC and the ACC is an odd marriage. The closest school (Maryland) is almost 500 miles away and Mass. and Maryland have 4 states in between them. BC joined for football $$. And yet, even with Miami & FSU down, they still can't make it to a BCS bowl. The ironic thing is if they had stayed in the Big East, they surely would've gone to a BCS bowl given the teams they've had the past few seasons.
Plus, look at the Big east rivalries they gave up: Syracuse, UConn, GTown, Nova, ND for hoops, etc. I don't think Virginia gets excited about playing BC in hoops.
Now, ask yourself this: You're Duke or UNC. With ACC expansion, you now don't play home and aways with everyone every year. So do you want to replace a Maryland game with a BC game? Given the rivalry MD has with those schools, the answer is obviously no.
Again, I'm not picking on them and I understand why they made the conference change but their logic was flawed.
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
Okay very fair points. I can't argue with any of that. Maybe I just felt like writing an article on how cool Tyrese Rice is ;).
And for the record, one of the other two first-teamers was Sean Singletary, someone near and dear to my heart as a Wahoo. Rice and Singletary have a lot of similarities in my mind, I think Rice is a better athlete and has better overall skills but both guys had to carry their teams and never received as much pub because of their teams bad records as you pointed.
I do remember when they played each other in C'ville though, fair amount of NBA scouts were there to see both of them. It was a very cool experience being in the press box that night.
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Steve Auger 6 months ago
"Maybe I just felt like writing an article on how cool Tyrese Rice is ;)."
That's perfectly fine. Many people on this site do just that. I'm not trying to bash Rice. I think he's a great player. I just think that those "in the know" about hoops know how good he BUT because of where he goes to school, because of the city that school is in, and because of choices that school made, he's pegged into a certain hole. Look at Kansas. They are the only game in town so who doesn't know who Sherron Collins is? BC is fighting the Sox, Pats, Celts, and Bruins for press.
Good job on the article, though.
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Travis Miller 6 months ago
I think you forgot to mention Greg Paulus in your poll
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
Paulus is a very good guard Travis but he doesn't even start for Duke anymore. You're certainly entitled to your opinion but Paulus is currently 7th on the team in points and tied for 4th in assists. His career numbers are impressive, but his best school ranking is tenth all-time in assists (443) which is less than Rice (509).
Nolan Smith, on the other hand, is well on his way to being in the discussion down the road.
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Travis Miller 6 months ago
Sorry for the confusion, Ben. I was making fun of Paulus.
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Jimmy Grappone 6 months ago
Great article, Ben. I, too, want Tyrese to get some love which is why I just posted my article "BC's Tyrese Rice Is Nice But Davidson's Steph Curry Is Number One Gunner." I love both of these kids and have seen both play in person. As an LC Bird (and UVA) alum, I watched several of Rice's high school battles against Tyree Evans (George Wythe/almost Cincy/JUCO A-A/almost MD) and his ridiculous 30 point game against Oak Hill at the Siegel Center a few years ago. I was also fortunuate enough to attend a Davidson game this year in which Curry dropped 31 second half points - 41 total - against MTSU. He really does it all for that team, as does Tyrese. Please read my article when you get a chance and let me know what you think. Oh, and don't forget to check out the Davidson v Duke game tonight!
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
Thanks for the read, always appreciate a fellow Wahoo.
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Tommy Christian 6 months ago
Boston College has traditionally been a solid basketball program. They've produced some very good players as of late which includes Jared Dudley (1st round), Sean Williams (1st round), and Sean Marshall (overseas). Tyrese Rice is apart of the next mold of Boston College greats. It would not be farfetched to call him the best to ever step foot on Chestnut Hill. Why I say this is because the youth that surrounds him. As a Junior, everyone was wondering how Tyrese would follow up his sophomore campaign with Marshall, Dudley, and Williams out of the picture. Teams focused on him and teams could not stop him. It was incredible watching Tyrese play the floor, but I would look at the scoreboard and just shake my head. It wasn't because Boston College was that bad. They had a pretty down ACC season, but they were VERY young. Al Skinner has done an excellent job on the recruiting trail. He got that commitment from Rakim Sanders who was regarded as one of the players in the Northeast. Then, in 2008, he got a commitment from Reggie Jackson who was regarded as one of the best players on the West coast. Talented classes that will make BC an ACC contender sometime within the next two years, but it's just unfortunate Tyrese has to be apart of this rebuilding process at Boston College. Not something you exactly want to see a great player go through.
However, going through this rebuilding process has showed a lot about Tyrese Rice. He can take the punishment, he has the swagger, he has the leadership, and he has the respect of his competition.
I love his swagger. If he makes a big shot or play, he'll let his opponent know about it. You can see it. He doesn't open his mouth and taunt, but you can see him just nodding, going back down to the other end of the floor and getting into his defensive position.
It is hard for him to get national recognition with the youth and rebuilding of Boston College, but he certainly deserves that attention. His team is in the rebuilding stages, but teams gear solely to stop Tyrese. Teams aren't concerned with Rakim Sanders. He's too inconsistent. Teams aren't concerned with Joe Trapani. He's too passive. Teams aren't concerned with Josh Southern. He does not have the offensive skill set. Teams are concerned of Tyrese Rice because he has proven no matter who he plays, no matter who's guarding him, that he's going to bring it to you. The W may show up, but if you're an opposing player, there's no shutting him down completely as Roy Williams pointed out before their loss to BC the other night.
BC is looking solid right now, but they are still young with six sophomores and three freshmen, most playing expanded roles. Boston College's starting line-up includes 4 sopohmores and the lone senior, Tyrese Rice. Their 6th man, Reggie Jackson, is a freshman and guys like Biko Paris and Courtney Dunn are sophomores. The only upperclassmen that sees a mildly significant role is Tyler Roche who so far has panned out to nothing at Boston College.
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Ben Gibson 6 months ago
Brilliant points Tommy. It is always difficult to see a superstar player whose talent is overshadowed by a lack of talent or experience around him. I know Curry has to feel like that sometimes because of the solid players he lost after last season.
BC came into the ACC with Dudley and Williams like you mentioned and immediately found themselves at the top of conference heap. They nearly won the ACC tournament. They undoubtedly will find their way back there and probably sooner than later. Thanks so much.
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Tommy Christian 6 months ago
Completely difficult to see a superstar's talent on a national stage with a program in it's rebuilding stages. We don't see any type of national love for Tyrese Rice when he has a big game against an ACC foe other than Duke/UNC.
Too much emphasis is put on winning these days. Being an All-American should not be about the amount of media attention someone gets or how they help their team. Save those accolades for the professional ranks where there is a respectable degree of parity. Parity in college basketball is a complete joke. If you're UNC, Duke, UCLA, Kansas, etc., you're getting recruits because of that ridiculous media attention and tradition. If you're a second tier big time school like Boston College, a coach has to work to get these recruits and these recruits have to work to prove their worthiness. Boston College has proven to be able to do that. Skinner has not been able to get the Tyler Hansbrough's of the world. Because of that, he's had to go out and find "diamonds in the rough" and he's done that. Jared Dudley went from a guy that only had two offers (SDSU and BC) and on the fringe of going to prep school and developed into an All-American. Sean Marshall was another guy that went from almost no offers to becoming one of the ACC's biggest players in crunch time. Sean Williams? Came from Dallas, Texas completely unknown and in his limited time on the court at BC, quickly established himself as one of the most feared interior presences in the last decade on defense. Finally, the man himself, Tyrese Rice. Had many mid-major offers, but teams were scared because of his size. Size... come on. If a guy can play, he can play. He Broke JJ Redick's 3 PTM record in Virginia and proved nothing more than a guy that knew how to play, tough as nails, and showed he could go through adversity.
I could be going a little out there, but I would not hesitate to call him pound for pound the toughest player in the country. He takes a hell of a beating and he is tough as hell on the court. Incredible durable, has the swagger, the confidence, and the productivity. On top of that, he's fought through adversity his entire life. He grew up with his father abandoning him, moved to Richmond which is a very crime stricken area. In his freshman year of college, the father figure he had (high school coach) died and not too long after, Tyrese Rice had to learn to be a father. That's the type of thing we'd see on Sportscenter if Rice was apart of a big-time program. But, he's not and it's sad that these type of players produce, should be given respect and attention, but are not given that attention.
There are no doubts that Boston College will find their way back. They've been spoiled with great players in the past and since they all graduated around the same time, it's been a rebuilding process and Boston College is getting the young, talented players to get them back to where they once were. Unfortunately, it does not bode well for Tyrese Rice who is one of the Boston College greats that deserves to go out a winner. Maybe he will, maybe he won't as far as the win/loss column goes. However, in my mind... he's going out a winner. He is the lone upperclassmen, he has been through this rebuilding process for two years, he has been the sole guy opposing teams have keyed on, he has fought through adversity, he has developed leadership, and he has, even with a struggling inexperienced cast, turned into one of the better Boston College players.
Winning is very overrated when picking All-American teams. They aren't meant to be MVP teams, but players who should be rewarded for their individual performance. There are not many players that have the burden of carrying a team like Tyrese Rice does. However, I think it's safe to say that he is teaching these guys what it takes to win as shown by the UNC game. What he is doing is paving the way for Boston College to become an ACC contender once again.
You will be missed at Boston College once this season is over, Tyrese.
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Elvis Casey 5 months ago
Coming from North Carolina, stuck in the middle of the supposedly "Big 4" as they are called around here. Wake passed him up, and dropped the ball.....now, when he plays them, he kills them. I think he is the best point guard in the country.
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Ben Gibson 5 months ago
Wake Forest is not alone. It really is amazing how low on the radar he was but you're right that he is making alot of teams pay right now...just not Harvard :-). Thanks for the read.
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