Former Kansas guard MJ Rice, a five-star prospect and McDonald’s All-American whose college career never got off the ground at Kansas, has announced plans to attend North Carolina State University next season.
Rice becomes the second member of the 2022-23 Kansas men’s basketball program to transfer to a college in North Carolina, following former teammate Bobby Pettiford, who recently committed to East Carolina.
Rice and Pettiford grew up in the Henderson and Durham area of North Carolina, spending time living just a few houses from one another. And now both are returning to the Tar Heel State to continue their college careers.
“Feels good to be home,” Rice wrote on his Instagram page in the post he used to announce his commitment to NC State.
Rice will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Wolfpack, who are coached by sixth-year head coach Kevin Keatts.
Rice and the Jayhawks faced NC State in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas last season, with KU winning 80-74 to advance to the semifinals. Rice did not play in the game and he only appeared in 23 of KU’s 36 games last season, averaging 7.6 minutes per game.
The now-former Jayhawk will be eligible to play immediately during the 2023-24 season and NC State will be his fifth school in the past five years. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound power guard attended Durham Academy, Oak Hill and Prolific Prep during his final three seasons of high school basketball before coming to KU last season.
Rice is the third of five players from KU’s 2022-23 roster to announce his new school.
Forward Cam Martin was the first to do so, and he’ll be playing at Boise State next season. Pettiford followed with his commitment to East Carolina, leaving Joe Yesufu and Zach Clemence as the only uncommitted Jayhawks.
Kansas coach Bill Self said at the recent team banquet that redshirt freshman guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. was still in the process of making a decision about his future. The Jayhawks have been active in the transfer portal during the past several weeks, and, with or without Cuffe on the roster next season, KU likely will add three or four players from the portal to the 2023-24 roster.
