Mike Rice

Michael Thomas Rice Sr. is a former National Basketball Association color commentator, one half of the Portland Trail Blazers' television broadcasting team. A former player and coach, he is the only broadcaster ejected from an NBA game.

Biography

Playing career A basketball player at Duquesne University, Rice earned an All-American honorable mention selection his senior year, leading his Dukes to the 1962 NIT tournament. During the semi-final of the NIT, Duquesne lost to the St. John's Red Storm. During the game, Rice became involved in a fight with St. John's player Donnie Burks that lasted at least a minute. It was ultimately broken up by the New York City Police Department, who stepped in when members of the Madison Square Garden crowd tried to join the fight. No one was injured and referees did not call fouls on either Rice or Burks. The Associated Press described the event as a "lively brawl".

Although the NBA was calling and the Detroit Pistons selected him in the eighth round of the 1962 NBA draft, Rice decided that his skills could be better utilized from an educational standpoint and opted for a career in coaching.

During his final season at Youngstown State, Rice was instrumental in reviving the Greater YSU Holiday Classic basketball tournament, an event which continued annually through the 1991–92 season.

Broadcasting career Mike Rice (R) with his longtime television broadcast partner with the Portland Trail Blazers, Mike Barrett.

After his dismissal at Youngstown State in March 1987, Rice looked for work outside of basketball. He was hired as the vice president of sales and marketing for David Zarzmer Industries, a Youngstown-based manufacturers' representative firm.

Rice moved from coaching to broadcasting for the 1987–88 season when he took a job working for ESPN as a college basketball analyst. Rice worked games as primary analyst for the Western Athletic Conference. Echoing these sentiments, Blazer television producer Scott Zachary has likened him to a "favorite uncle" and publicly pronounced him "a goofy dude."

Rice's outspoken demeanor resulted in one of the events for which he is best known, his 1994 ejection from an NBA game while working a radio broadcast.

Rice added that he subsequently wrote an article for Rip City magazine charging Javie with an abuse of power. "I think he...read that and we have not talked since", he noted in a 2009 interview. Mike Rice, Jr. was fired by Rutgers on April 3, 2013.

Despite nine surgeries on his right knee, Mike Rice, Sr. remains an avid golfer, sporting a 6 handicap. He frequently brought his golf clubs when he traveled with the team and plays whenever possible. He also plays tennis several times a week.

Head coaching record