Rayvonte Rice

During his junior season at Centennial High School in Champaign, Rice led the Chargers to the 2009 3A IHSA Boys Basketball Championship with a 61–59 defeat over Oswego High School.{{Cite web |last=Tate |first=Loren |date=March 23, 2009 |title=Tate: Rayvonte Rice's future is basketball |url=http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/mens-basketball/2009-03-23/tate-rayvonte-rices-future-basketball.html |access-date=January 4, 2014 |website=News-Gazette}} During his senior season, Rice averaged 23.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 1.8 assists and led his team back to the IHSA state tournament for a fourth-place finish. After his senior season in 2010, Rice came in second with 201 votes for Illinois Mr. Basketball behind Jereme Richmond.{{Cite web |date=March 31, 2010 |title=Boys basketball: Waukegan senior, Illinois recruit Jereme Richmond wins Illinois Mr. Basketball award |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/03/31/boys-basketball-waukegan-senior-illinois-recruit-jereme-richmond-wins-illinois-mr-basketball-award/ |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune}} Ironically, Richmond committed to play at the University of Illinois while Rice was never offered a scholarship by then coach, Bruce Weber. Richmond only stayed at Illinois for one season, and Coach John Groce offered Rice a scholarship to transfer from Drake after his sophomore season.

Rice was named a member of the 2010 Illinois All-American Team as selected by the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, News-Gazette, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. He was also named the 2010 News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year, the first from Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area since 1984.{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Marcus |date=April 4, 2010 |title=Meet the All-State team |url=http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/mens-basketball/2010-04-04/meet-all-state-team.html |access-date=January 4, 2014 |website=News Gazette}}

Rice left Centennial High School as the all-time leading scorer in both school history and in Champaign-Urbana high school prep history with 1,810 career points.

{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote="Man, I grew up watching guys like Dee [Brown], Deron [Williams] and Luther [Head]," Rice said. "I used to dream about putting on an Illini uniform, running out of that tunnel and hearing all the fans cheering for us. I never want to take this damn uniform off, it's a feeling I can't explain. I give all I can to this school, and I want the fans to remember the way I remember those guys; sometimes I still can't believe it, more like a dream, I love this school man you just don't know."|source=—Rayvonte Rice on transferring to Illinois{{cite web | url=http://www.qconline.com/sports/college_sports/rice-is-cooking-so-enjoy-it-while-you-can/article_296c2657-4a7d-5e3b-b58f-e3770f95d757.html | title=Rice is cooking, so enjoy it while you can | publisher=QC Times | author=Prince, Kendrick | date=2015-01-05 | accessdate=2015-01-27}}}}

{{College Athlete Recruit Start|40=no|collapse=no|year=2010}}

{{College Athlete Recruit Entry

| recruit = Rayvonte Rice

| position = SG

| hometown = Champaign, IL

| highschool = Centennial High School

| feet = 6

| inches = 4

| weight = 220

| 40 =

| commitdate = September 11, 2009

| scout stars = 3

| rivals stars = 0

| espn grade = 85

}}

{{College Athlete Recruit End

| 40 =

| year = 2010

| rivals ref title =

| scout ref title = Men's Basketball Recruiting

| espn ref title = ESPN - Drake Bulldogs Basketball Recruiting 2010

| rivals school =

| scout s = 513

| espn schoolid = 2181

| scout overall = #35 (SG)

| rivals overall = N/A

| espn overall = #89 (SG)

| accessdate = January 4, 2014

| bball = yes

}}

During his first year at Drake, Rice made an immediate impact, playing in 31 games and averaging 13.8 ppg and shooting an average of just over 40% from the field.{{Cite web |title=Rayvonte Rice College Stats |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/rayvonte-rice-1.html |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com |language=en}} For his contributions to his team, Rice was voted to the 2011 Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team & the All-Newcomers Team.

Rice improved his second year at Drake averaging 16.8 ppg and shooting about 44% from the field. Rice was named to the 2012 Second-Team Missouri Valley Conference following the season.

After announcing his decision to transfer from Drake, Rice narrowed down his options between Illinois, Xavier, Memphis, and Marquette. Rice said of his decision to sign with Illinois, that John Groce had previously recruited him while Groce was still coach at Ohio University which contributed to his commitment.{{cite web |work=News Gazette | url=http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/mens-basketball/2012-04-25/klee-rayvonte-rice-commits-illinois.html | title=IKlee: Rayvonte Rice commits to Illinois | date=April 25, 2012 | last1=Klee | first1=Paul | accessdate=January 4, 2014 }}

Due to NCAA transfer rules, Rice was forced to sit out during the 2012-2013 season. The transfer regulations relegated Rice to attend only practices as a participant and home games at the State Farm Center as an observer. Rice has gained much notoriety for his transfer year as he made drastic changes to his workouts & diet, which resulted in him losing 45 pounds and cutting his overall body fat to 5%.{{cite web |work=Chicago Tribune| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/10/09/rice-ready-to-step-in-for-illini/ | title=Rice ready to step in for Illini | date= October 9, 2013 | last1=Ryan | first1=Shannon | access-date=January 4, 2014 }}{{cite web |work=News-Gazette| url=http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/mens-basketball/2013-02-01/rayvonte-rice-working-hard.html | title=Rayvonte Rice: Working hard | date=February 1, 2013 | last1=Jackson | first1=Marcus | accessdate=January 4, 2014 }}{{cite web |work=Chicago Sun-Times| url=http://www.suntimes.com/sports/24654211-419/illinois-basketballs-rayvonte-rice-in-good-shape-on-off-court.html | title=Illinois basketball's Rayvonte Rice in good shape on, off court | date=December 29, 2013 | last1=Gould | first1=Herb | accessdate=January 4, 2014 }}

During the 2013-2014 season has been twice named Big Ten Player of the Week. As of January 3, 2014, Rice is leading the conference in scoring, averaging 19 ppg.{{cite web |work=ESPN | url=http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/_/group/7 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316134640/http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/_/group/7 | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 16, 2010 | title=Big Ten Men's Basketball Statistics - 2013-14| accessdate=January 4, 2014 }}

In the early season games, Rice won the Las Vegas Tournament MVP. During the 2014 year Rice improved his shooting 44% from three point line, improving from 29% the previous season. Ray had a major impact on the Braggin Rights game where he hit a step back game winning jumper as time expired. He showed his athleticism when he threw down a massive alley-oop dunk vs Purdue. Despite missing some games in the middle of the season due to injury, and having a lower average of minutes per game, he improved his field goal percentage by 4%, his three-point percentage by 14%, as previously noted, raised his free throw to 80%, and averaged more rebounds, steals, assists, and points in his senior campaign compared to his junior year. He ranked 5th in the big ten in scoring (unofficially since he missed games due to injury, and the Big Ten website accounts for players playing most of the games), and 9th in rebounding (also unofficially for the same reason). He won Co-Most Outstanding Player for the Illini tied with teammate Nnanna Egwu.

{{NBA player statistics legend}}

{{NBA player statistics start}}

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11

| style="text-align:left;"| Drake

| 31 || 30 || 30.1 || 40.2 || 29.5 || 69.6 || 4.8 || 1.6 || 1.4 || 0.8 || 13.8

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2011–12

| style="text-align:left;"| Drake

| 33 || 33 || 33.4 || 43.6 || 24.1 || 70.8 || 5.8 || 1.6 || 1.9 || 0.8 || 16.8

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2012–13

| style="text-align:left;"| Illinois

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="11"|Did not play due to NCAA transfer regulations

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14

| style="text-align:left;"| Illinois

| 35 || 35 || 32.7 || 43.0 || 29.5 || 73.1 || 6.0 || 1.5 || 1.7 || 0.3 || 15.9

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15

| style="text-align:left;"| Illinois

| 24 || 19 || 30.0 || 47.1 || 43.6 || 80.7 || 6.5 || 1.8 || 1.8 || 0.3 || 16.5

{{s-end}}

Updated: January 12, 2018

Rice signed his first professional contract with Tezenis Verona of the Italian Serie A2 Basket on July 29, 2015.{{cite web |title=Tezenis Verona agreed to terms with rookie Rayvonte Rice |url=https://sportando.basketball/en/italy/serie-a2-est/170844/tezenis-verona-agreed-to-terms-with-rookie-rayvonte-rice.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927085732/https://sportando.basketball/en/italy/serie-a2-est/170844/tezenis-verona-agreed-to-terms-with-rookie-rayvonte-rice.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2018 |website=Sportando |accessdate=September 26, 2018}} Rice spent the 2017–18 season with Basket Ravenna Piero Manetti in Italy.{{cite web|title=AMSB Player Profile|url=http://amsbasket.clubeo.com/saison-2016-2017/pro-b/equipe-amsb-pro-b/joueur-rayvonte-rice.html|website=AMS Basket|accessdate=March 19, 2017}} He averaged 18.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 30 games. On September 25, 2018, he signed with Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC of the Iranian Basketball Super League.{{cite web |title=Rayvonte Rice signs with Petrochimi |url=https://sportando.basketball/en/asia/iran/289739/rayvonte-rice-signs-with-petrochimi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927085706/https://sportando.basketball/en/asia/iran/289739/rayvonte-rice-signs-with-petrochimi.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2018 |website=Sportando |accessdate=September 26, 2018}} In July 2019, Rice played with the Phoenix Suns during the 2019 NBA Summer League.{{Cite web |date=July 3, 2019 |title=Phoenix Suns Announce 2019 Summer League Roster |url=https://www.nba.com/suns/press-release/phoenix-suns-announce-2019-summer-league-roster |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=NBA.com |language=en}}

On September 4, 2019, Rice signed with Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League.{{Cite news|title=Rayvonte Rice signs with Avtodor Saratov|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/rayvonte-rice-signs-with-avtodor-saratov/|date=September 4, 2019|newspaper=Sportando|access-date=September 4, 2019}} On December 25, 2019, Rice parted ways with Saratov to join Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Premier League for the rest of the season.{{Cite web|title=מחליף לטרל: רייבונטה רייס חתם באילת|url=http://basket.co.il/news.asp?id=22940|date=December 25, 2019|publisher=basket.co.il|access-date=December 25, 2019|language=he}} He signed with Kyoto Hannaryz of the Japanese B.League on July 15, 2020.{{cite news |title=Rayvonte Rice signs with Kyoto Hannaryz |url=https://sportando.basketball/en/rayvonte-rice-signs-with-kyoto-hannaryz/ |website=Sportando |accessdate=July 15, 2020 |date=July 15, 2020}}

After training with AEK Athens for a period of time, Rice eventually signed with Ionikos Nikaias of the Greek Basket League, on December 10, 2021.{{cite web |last1=Mammides |first1=Chris |title=Ionikos ink Rayvonte Rice |url=https://www.eurobasket.com/Greece/news/720764/Ionikos-ink-Rayvonte-Rice |website=Eurobasket |access-date=December 10, 2021 |date=December 10, 2021}} On January 8, 2022, Rice mutually parted ways with the Greek club in order to pursue a G League contract. In only 2 games, he averaged 12.5 points and 3 rebounds, playing 21 minutes per contest.

On January 10, 2022, Rice was acquired by the Salt Lake City Stars.{{cite web |title=Stars Acquire Rayvonte Rice |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/stars-acquire-rayvonte-rice/n-5780320 |website=OurSports Central |access-date=December 24, 2024 |date=January 10, 2022}}

In January 2023, Rice joined the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) for the 2022–23 BCL Americas.{{cite web |title=CEBL Announces Honey Badgers Roster Ahead of Second Stage of Basketball Champions League of Americas |url=https://www.cebl.ca/cebl-announces-honey-badgers-roster-ahead-of-second-stage-of-basketball-champions-league-of-americas |website=CEBL |access-date=December 27, 2024 |date=January 13, 2023}}

On February 10, 2023, Rice signed with the Taichung Suns of the T1 League.{{cite news |title=台中太陽簽下新洋將萊斯 汪蔚傑狂讚他的三分與防守能力 |url=https://sports.ettoday.net/news/2438120 |accessdate=February 10, 2023 |work=ETtoday |date=February 10, 2023}}

On January 4, 2024, Rice signed with the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers of the P. League+.{{cite web |title=前太陽萊斯改名銳米加盟鋼鐵人 盼彌補得分火力 |url=https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aspt/202401040143.aspx |website=中央社 |access-date=December 27, 2024 |date=January 4, 2024}}

In June 2024, Rice signed with the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for the 2024 Basketball Champions League Asia.{{cite web |title=辽篮6号出征亚冠联赛 短合同签约两名新外援 |url=https://sports.sina.com.cn/basketball/cba/2024-06-05/doc-inaxszzu5594033.shtml |website=新浪体育 |access-date=December 27, 2024 |date=June 5, 2024}}

On September 22, 2024, Rice signed with the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to replace injured Shabazz Muhammad as the team's import for the 2024 PBA Governors' Cup.{{cite web |first=Gerry |last=Ramos |url=https://www.spin.ph/basketball/pba/magnolia-brings-in-rayvonte-rice-as-new-import-heading-to-qfs-a793-20240922 |title=Magnolia brings in Rayvonte Rice as new import heading to QFs |website=Spin.ph |date=September 22, 2024 |access-date=September 22, 2024 }} On September 26, he was replaced by Jabari Bird.{{cite web |last1=Gerry |first1=Ramos |title=Magnolia brings in fourth Govs' Cup import in Jabari Bird |url=https://www.spin.ph/basketball/pba/magnolia-brings-in-fourth-govs-cup-import-in-jabari-bird-a793-20240926 |website=SPIN.ph |access-date=December 27, 2024 |date=September 26, 2024}}

On December 24, 2024, Rice signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).{{cite web |title=广东队官宣新援加盟！华南虎集齐四外援阵容 |url=https://sports.ycwb.com/2024-12/24/content_53140601.htm |website=羊城晚报•羊城派 |access-date=December 24, 2024 |date=December 24, 2024}} On January 4, 2025, his contract was terminated.{{cite web |title=与莱斯解约，广东队继续寻找优质小外援 |url=https://sports.ycwb.com/2025-01/04/content_53163024.htm |website=羊城晚报•羊城派 |access-date=January 4, 2025 |date=January 4, 2025}}

Rice has been quoted as saying he idolized former Fighting Illini basketball stars Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head, and Corey Bradford while growing up in Champaign.

While in high school, Rice was a dual-sport athlete who backed up his cousin Mikel Leshoure as running back for the Centennial Chargers. Leshoure went on to play football for the Fighting Illini and then was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2011 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/rayvonte_rice_803530.html/ Illinois Fighting Illini bio]
• [http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/gamecent/p/pid/6084181/playerview.html/ FIBA Profile]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
• [https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Rayvonte-Rice/Summary/9335 RealGM profile]
• [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/rayvonte-rice-1.html/ College statistics]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Rayvonte}}

Category:1992 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen

Category:21st-century American sportsmen

Category:American expatriate basketball people in China

Category:American expatriate basketball people in France

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Iran

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Israel

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Italy

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Japan

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Category:Aix Maurienne Savoie Basket players

Category:American men's basketball players

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Category:Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players

Category:Hapoel Eilat basketball players

Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players

Category:Ionikos Nikaias B.C. players

Category:Iranian Basketball Super League players

Category:Kyoto Hannaryz players

Category:Liaoning Flying Leopards players

Category:Magnolia Hotshots players

Category:Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC players

Category:Philippine Basketball Association imports

Category:Salt Lake City Stars players

Category:Scaligera Basket Verona players

Category:Shooting guards

Category:Soles de Mexicali players

Category:Basketball players from Champaign, Illinois

Category:Taichung Suns players

Category:T1 League imports

Category:Ironi Ness Ziona B.C. players

Category:Indios de San Francisco de Macorís players

Category:Brampton Honey Badgers players

Category:Guangdong Southern Tigers players

Category:Basket Ravenna Piero Manetti players