NBA legend Rice: March Madness had a huge impact on my career
ONGOING right now in the United States is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament, or more popularly known as “March Madness.” One player who made huge waves during his college career at the “Big Dance” is National Basketball Association legend Glen Rice, who won it all in 1989 while playing for the Michigan Wolverines.
Recently in the country to join the local commemoration of the first-ever NBA Filipino Heritage Week, Mr. Rice, 49, shared that he had great memories playing in the March Madness and that it helped him a lot as he went on with his basketball career.
“That [ NCAA Tournament] had a huge impact on my college career and helped me propel to the next level,” said Mr. Rice in an interview with BusinessWorld.
In four years with the Wolverines, the sweet- shooting Rice helped his team reach the NCAA Tournament every year and led it to the national title in 1989 against the Seton Hall Pirates.
“My first three years in Michigan, we would get to the NCAA tournament and fall short. My senior year was different. It was totally a new experience as we went on to win the national title. It was one of the highlights, if not the highlight, of my college career,” he said.
During their 1989 championship run, Mr. Rice went on a scoring tear to tow his team.
In the first two rounds against Xavier and South Alabama, in that order, he averaged 29.5 points then dropped 34 points against North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen and 32 versus Virginia in the Elite Eight.
The Final Four saw him go for 28 markers in a win over Illinois and finished things off with 31 points in their epic 80-79 overtime win over Seton Hall in the title game.
All in all, Mr. Rice averaged 30.7 points in the tournament, one of the best all-time, en route to winning the tournament most outstanding player award.
“It helped and definitely propelled me to the next level — the NBA — as I was drafted fourth overall by the Miami Heat in the [ 1989] draft after it,” said Mr. Rice, who went on to become a three-time All- Star in the NBA.
But despite the success he had in college, Mr. Rice said he made sure that he continued working on his game and reaching higher grounds, something he always shares with younger players starting with their basketball journeys.
“Even if you have early success in high school and college, you have to understand that you have to work hard to reach the top. And in order to stay on top you have to fight for it and earn your keep,” said Mr. Rice, who won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
SWEET SIXTEEN
Meanwhile, this year’s edition of the March Madness is now in the Sweet Sixteen.
Left standing in the East Regionals are Florida (4) taking on Wisconsin (8) and Baylor (3) versus South Carolina (7); West Regionals has Gonzaga (1) against West Virginia (4) and Arizona (2) battling Xavier (11); Midwest Regionals has Kansas (1) against Purdue (4) and Oregon (3) versus Michigan (7); and South Regionals has North Carolina (1) facing Butler (4) and Kentucky (2) going up against UCLA (3).
Sweet Sixteen play is scheduled for this weekend.