Rice Ready For a New Era at Monmouth

Flashing a bright smile throughout, new Monmouth University men’s basketball coach King Rice outlined his vision of a successful future for the Hawks while bluntly addressing questions about his past at his introductory press conference at the Multipurpose Athletic Center on Wednesday afternoon.  

After 13 seasons as an assistant coach, Rice, a former North Carolina point guard on the Tar Heels’ 1991 Final Four team, becomes the fifth head coach in Monmouth University program history out of a field that included 77 applicants. He spent the past five seasons as an assistant at Vanderbilt under head coach Kevin Stallings, with the Commodores reaching the NCAA Tournament in four of those seasons.  

“I’m humbled, I’m honored to be your basketball coach, and we are going to be at the top of this league as soon as we can possibly get there,’’ said Rice, who was joined by his wife, Summer, and his son, Alexander. “Championships are supposed to be hung at Monmouth, and we are going to hang championships together with everybody’s help.’’  

Rice, 42, replaces Dave Calloway, who resigned under pressure at the end of February after five straight 20-loss seasons concluded a 14-year tenure that also included three NCAA Tournament berths. Unlike Calloway, who was a former player for the Hawks, Rice enters with no major Monmouth ties, but aims to take them back to the top of the Northeast Conference.  

“Finally all the wild speculation, the cajoling and some serious arm twisting are behind me and behind (athletic director) Marilyn (McNeil),’’ said Monmouth president Paul Gaffney. “We are at peace with the world since 2:45 yesterday afternoon.’’ 

Questions About Rice's Background

Rice grew up in Binghamton, N.Y., and was a McDonald’s All-American in high school before playing under legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith. In addition to his coaching stint at Vanderbilt, Rice was also previously an assistant at Providence, Oregon and under Stallings for five seasons at Illinois State.  

He also fielded questions about some negative events from that past, including a charge of driving while impaired in Binghamton from when he was 22 years old. Also, as an assistant at Illinois State in 1997, he was suspended for a game with pay after he ran up into the stands after a fan in a game against Northern Iowa, although he did not make contact with the fan after being restrained.  

“When I was younger, I was an alcoholic,’’ he said. “I had a major drinking problem. In 14 years, I haven’t had a sip of alcohol. I’ve got 14 years sober, and since those things have happened, I have been to Providence, worked closely with the Lakers, been back at Vanderbilt, (and) I had people interview me for head jobs, and most of the time those things come up because I bring them up.  

“I’m not embarrassed. I was hard-headed so it lasted from when I was 18 to 27. I’m 42. Nine years of my life shouldn’t mess up the rest of my life? Should it?’’  

Rice clearly regrets his actions and is open about them, including the one in the stands that occurred 14 years ago. However, he also noted that Billy Gillispie just landed the head job at Texas Tech despite being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence three times since 1999, including one in 2009 that cost him his job at Kentucky, yet Rice is still answering for things that happened nearly 15 years ago or more.  

“I was not drinking at the game or anything like that, but when you have that problem, you’re off a little bit,’’ he said about the Illinois State incident.  “You get mad and then things go fast, and that’s what happened. Should I have done it? Not one second. As soon as I did it, I wish I didn’t, but it was too late. Very soon after that I never had a drink again, and it doesn’t get like that any more. 

“I just think people should really do a lot of research. I’m asked the question like it happened a minute ago, but it’s been 14 years. I stood up, I received my punishment, I said sorry and then I bettered myself. What else can I do? What else do I have to do to say sorry?’’  

Hawks Running Toward the Future

As far as on the court, Rice promises to mold the Hawks into an aggressive man-to-man defensive team and an up-tempo offensive team that borrows heavily from the playbook at Vanderbilt, which averaged 75.9 points per game this season, ranked 29th in Division I. Monmouth averaged 60.6 points per game in 2010-11, ranked 315th.  Rice's philosophy is the complete opposite of Calloway's who employed a zone defense and the Princeton offense.

“We’re going to sprint the ball up the floor, we’re going to pitch it ahead, and we’re going to let these young men use their talents,’’ Rice said. “I told them that if they can get a good shot within five seconds, that’s what we’re going to do. They told me they wanted to run, and that’s what I want to do.’’ 

Rice met with the returning players for the first time on Wednesday morning after waking up early to watch some film from this past season to acclimate himself with the personnel, which includes five returning seniors. He also said he will be reaching out to the parents of the three incoming signees for 2011-12 by Saturday.  

“I was extremely impressed with how hard they played, how they shared the ball, (and) how no one ever hung their head in the games I saw,’’ he said. “That makes you want to work with these kids already.’’  

Rice also reached out directly to Calloway, saying that he would like to form a relationship. That is a rare instance in most coaching changes.  

“He is going to be a friend of mine because I am going to reach out and say hello and let him know that these young men that he brought here are in good hands,’’ Rice said. “I know he gave Monmouth University everything he had, and I take my hat off to him and I hope I can continue a lot of the things he has in place here.’’  

Rice added that he was in talks with some coaches to join his staff but did not mention anyone by name other than a current Vanderbilt staff member. He said he will speak with the assistants from Calloway’s staff and will try to help them land jobs if something does not work out as far as becoming part of his staff.  

He urged his new players to reach out to fellow students to help generate enthusiasm for the Hawks, and he stated that he wants to create a family atmosphere similar to the one he enjoyed at North Carolina while emphasizing academics.  

Another question that Rice faced was his ability to recruit the 1-95 corridor from New England down to Maryland, particularly New York and New Jersey. He noted that while at Illinois State, he was the lead recruiter who secured the commitment of Long Island star Jamar Smiley, and while at Vanderbilt he secured commitments from Brooklyn’s Lance Goulbourne and Central Islip’s Rod Odom, all of whom were being pursued by Big East schools and other local programs.  

Plus, for all the speculation about bringing in a “Jersey guy,’’ Monmouth only has four returning players on its roster who are from New Jersey.  

“Being able to recruit is about relationships,’’ he said. “I have relationship with all kinds of coaches in the Northeast. I think you will be able to see pretty quickly that our recruiting is going to be very strong.’’  

Rice mentioned connections with Dwayne Mitchell, the coach of New York City power Rice, as well as St. Benedict’s Prep coach Roshown McLeod and New York Panthers AAU coach Gary Charles as established relationships in the area. He also said he will be reaching out to St. Patrick’s head coach Kevin Boyle and Christian Brothers Academy coach Geoff Billet, who were also applicants for the Monmouth job.  

“I’m going to Kevin’s gym and I’m going to Geoff Billet’s gym,’’ Rice said. “I know Geoff, so that will be OK. I know (Boyle) wanted this job, but I’m going to his gym. People’s feelings might be hurt at first, but if you get the right kids and you win, and then we start winning and they don’t send me kids, then we’ll talk about it. 

Rice also has dealt with legendary St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley Sr., whose team routinely pumps out multiple Division I recruits. Rice and Hurley’s son, Bobby Jr., battled as opposing point guards in the early 1990s at Duke and North Carolina and now will compete for recruits in the Northeast Conference as Hurley Jr. is an assistant for his brother Dan, the head coach at Wagner.  

“Mr. Hurley has always welcomed me with open arms,’’ Rice said before smiling. “But if (Wagner) is recruiting (a St. Anthony player) too, we’re not going to win that one.’’  

Forthright, aggressive, enthusiastic and optimistic – the King Rice era is ready to begin at Monmouth University.