Rodney Rice's father on Maryland, portal decision: “strong possibility he returns with the right hire”

After the ongoing coaching news finally settled with Kevin Willard heading to Villanova, Monday marked the day when several players began to make their stay-or-go decisions as Ja’Kobi Gillespie, DeShawn Harris-Smith, Tafara Gapare, Jay Young and Rodney Rice entered the transfer portal. While fans begin to grasp the roster rebuild in College Park with seven players still on the roster as of Monday night, leaving the next coach to replace at least 90% of the minutes from the 2024-25 season, all eyes turn to the status of Rodney Rice.

Rice, a former four-star out of DeMatha, transferred into Maryland as the X-factor on the roster with his sharpshooting and inexperience proving to be a wildcard in the early makings of the rotation. It took all but five games until Rice became a mainstay in the starting five, a lineup that materialized into the ‘Crab Five’ and one of the nation’s highest scoring lineups. Rice was a big reason why.

His six 20-point games and eight games leading the team in scoring proved himself as instant offense, and it took just two games to show that. Rice scored 26 of his game-high 28 points in the first half vs. Mount Saint Mary’s, making him the first Big Ten player since Luke Garza in 2019 to post 25 or more in the opening 20 minutes. Two months later, Rice’s buzzer-beater vs. Indiana cemented the team’s road momentum, while the shot marked one of 80 made three-pointers on the season – the sixth-most in a single season in program history.

That’s why making sure the fit is right under the next staff in College Park is the new focus. And according to Rice’s dad, there remains a “strong possibility he returns with the right hire.”

“First of all, there was no intention of ever leaving Maryland. This whole coaching change, and the timing of it, wasn’t ideal and we just felt like it was best that he goes to the portal,” he told IBG. “We’re waiting to see who Maryland is going to hire because there’s a strong possibility he returns with the right hire. Someone that is going to help him continue to grow, develop his game and give him a chance to get to the NBA. Right now, there’s so much uncertainty that we didn’t want to close the door to other options to see what else is out there but also gauge as far as what his market value is in the whole market share, NIL space. We can do that in the short-term then once Maryland figures out who they’re hiring, determine whether that’s the best place for Rodney to be.”

Rice filled the shoes left vacant by Jahmir Young as former Stags suiting up in College Park, giving Maryland momentum with the WCAC powerhouse that once went 20 years without sending a player up the road.

“It’s always been his dream school, he experienced success last year and he enjoys being in front of family and friends and he’s a happy college student. He wants to be at Maryland, feel like he’s a Terp, but business is business.”

That business includes skyrocketing price tags ahead of the expected NIL added to schools’ total $20.5 revenue-sharing distribution, a once hot topic in Kevin Willard’s rants through the postseason run, with the transfer portal becoming more expensive each season. But just like last offseason, Rice’s decision won’t be motivated by money.

“The money is not the most important thing. At the end of the day, I like something that’s fair for [Rodney] that he’s earned, but money won’t drive us to make a decision. This won’t be a highest bidder situation. Most important is that he’s playing for a quality coach that’s going to continue to grow and develop his game and he’s playing the right role that can help him reach his NBA dreams.”

Day one of the portal has drawn plenty of outside high major interest with Villanova under Kevin Willard one of several evaluating early interest. Regardless of who is interested in the blossoming star, Rice’s father said no decision will be made until Maryland makes its coaching hire.

“That won’t happen. We’re not making any moves until we know who the next coach of Maryland will be. Even though we’ve received a lot of interest from multiple schools, we won’t take anybody serious until we see who the next coach at Maryland is going to be.”

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