WSU signs Myles Rice to 2021 hoops class

The Washington State Cougars have yet to make an official announcement, but it appears the basketball team has signed its first member of the 2021 class: Point guard Myles Rice from Tyrone, Georgia.

Assistant coach John Andrzejek has confirmed the signing.

Rice, who committed a few weeks ago, is yet another top-200 high school player signed by the Cougs since Kyle Smith took over at WSU. Like all Smith targets, Rice is what he’d call a six-tool player who does a lot of things well. But as a point guard who could potentially play right away, he fills a very specific need: Isaac Bonton is set to graduate (maybe — more on that in a sec), and the only other point guards on the roster are freshman Jefferson Koulibaly (who will miss this season with an injury) and junior walk-on Myles Warren.

As a junior in high school, Rice averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Here are some highlights:

Last year’s recruiting class featured three top-200 players (Andrej Jakimovski, Carlos Rosario, Dishon Jackson), bringing Smith’s total to four in his first two full classes; all four of those players are in the top 12 recruits signed since the beginning of the 247Sports.com historical database. Kent signed just one top-200 player (Milan Acquaah) in his four full classes.

Whether WSU will be signing anyone else this year is a bit of a mystery. WSU ostensibly has one more scholarship to give, but a potential wrinkle is the NCAA’s eligibility waiver for this season. Because of COVID, this season doesn’t count against a player’s eligibility clock, just like football, which means Bonton (and forward Tony Miller) could still return for a second senior season. If everyone came back next season, WSU would be over the 13-scholarship limit:

It’s unclear whether teams will still be required to stay under the limit, or if a waiver will be granted to schools in the future if a senior exercises his option to stick around. As of now, the NCAA hasn’t given schools the green light to go above 13, which means the school is probably anticipating a departure, somewhere — which, to be honest, wouldn’t be entirely shocking, given the glut of talented players who are currently fighting for minutes.

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