BIO: Glen Rice Jr was born in Miami, Florida (USA).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Glen Rice Jr made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 28 years of age. He scored 26 points in his first game.

After finishing sixth with a 12-16 record under Kevin Braswell the previous season, New Zealand appointed Dan Shamir as coach and Director of Basketball. Shea Ili (to Melbourne), Shawn Long (to Melbourne) and Tai Wesley (to South East Melbourne) departed, while general manager Dillon Boucher and assistant coach Michael Fitchett also left the club. The Breakers added Next Star RJ Hampton, Rob Loe (via Cairns), Sek Henry (via Pınar Karşıyaka), Scotty Hopson and Brandon Ashley while captain Thomas Abercrombie and Corey Webster returned.

Injuries disrupted the Breakers early, with Finn Delany, Loe, Webster and Hopson (18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across 21 games) all missing time during the first half of the season. Hopson suffered a split ligament in his knee against Cairns on October 31 and New Zealand used its nominated injury replacement option to sign former Washington Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr on November 5. Rice Jr (25 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals across 3 games) arrived with a history of off-court problems but also a previous relationship with Shamir and was given an opportunity by Breakers owner Matt Walsh.

Rice Jr’s NBL debut came against Melbourne at Spark Arena on November 7, where he came off the bench and scored 26 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in only 18 minutes, making all 12 of his free throws before fouling out in the fourth quarter. New Zealand recovered from 21 points down to get within two points in the final minute before losing 104-101, with Webster (20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Hampton (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists) helping the comeback, while Chris Goulding (24 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) led Melbourne. His 26 points were promoted by the Breakers as the second-best debut in NBL history, with 8,371 fans producing the third-largest regular-season crowd in New Zealand at the time.

HISTORY LESSON ✔️📖Glen Rice Jr. with 26PTS out the gate giving him the second best debut in the history of the @NBL 🥵 #UNBREAKABLE #NBL20 #nice @grice_41

Two nights later against South East Melbourne, Rice Jr (19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals) made his first start but the Breakers were beaten 103-78. Webster (22 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Ashley (17 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks) provided support for New Zealand, while Mitchell Creek (21 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists) led the Phoenix.

Five days later, Rice Jr was arrested following an incident outside an Auckland bar and charged with injuring with intent to injure. The NBL directed New Zealand to stand him down from its November 17 game against Perth while the incident was referred to Basketball Australia’s Integrity Unit, with Rice Jr still allowed to train and take part in other club commitments. The Breakers lost 88-77 without him and slipped to 2-7.

Walsh subsequently announced Rice Jr had been suspended indefinitely and said, “I respect our legal process in New Zealand and firmly believe that you are innocent until proven guilty.” He added, “However, regardless of the outcome of Glen’s court appearance, there is no denying he has let down the club, our fans and the New Zealand public after we gave him this lifeline.”

Walsh also said, “I feel it is my duty to assist Glen in paying his accommodation, legal and medical costs while he remains in our country to settle his business. But I also have no option but to remove him from the team.” Reflecting on the decision to sign him despite his previous off-court problems, Walsh said, “I put structures in place, which I thought would prevent any problems happening, but I was wrong.” He added, “In many ways, I feel responsible in a situation where there are no winners. Glen is a tremendously talented basketballer, but I expect our players to be professional both on and off the court.”

The incident added to a turbulent start to the season for New Zealand. Walsh had also been fined $5,000 and banned for two weeks following a verbal altercation with NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger, although his suspension was reduced to one game and part of the fine was suspended on appeal. Rice Jr did not miss any games through injury during his time with New Zealand. He missed three games while stood down and suspended, against Perth on November 17, Adelaide on November 24 and Illawarra on November 30.

Despite Walsh initially indicating Rice Jr would not play for the club again, Basketball Australia’s Integrity Unit completed its investigation and he was cleared to return for New Zealand’s December 6 game in Cairns. Rice Jr’s best game of the season came that night, where he finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal as the Breakers lost 108-90 to the Taipans. Henry (19 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Jarrad Weeks (15 points and 2 rebounds) provided support, while Scott Machado (22 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists) led Cairns as New Zealand fell to 3-9.

Glen Rice Jr Posts 30 points & 12 rebounds vs. Cairns Taipans, 12/06/2019

That proved to be Rice Jr’s final NBL appearance. He was arrested again two days later for breaching the bail conditions imposed following his first arrest and appeared in Auckland District Court the following morning. New Zealand immediately terminated his contract, announcing, “Glen Rice Junior’s contract with the New Zealand Breakers has been terminated with immediate effect.” The club also said it would “continue to assist Mr. Rice with his personal struggles until he is freely able to return home to his family in the United States.”

Webster (19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists across 11 games) had returned to being one of the league’s leading scorers before being bought out of his contract in December (to China), while Henry (13.2 points and 3.4 assists across 26 games), Abercrombie (11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds across 28 games), Delany (11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds across 20 games), Ashley (10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds across 28 games), Loe (9.3 points and 4 rebounds across 20 games), Hampton (8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds across 15 games) and Weeks (5.6 points across 25 games) were New Zealand’s other major contributors. Abercrombie became the first New Zealander and only the second NBL player after Daniel Kickert to complete a 50-40-90 season and was named the Breakers’ MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, while Hopson was selected to the All-NBL Second Team and named the Members Choice MVP.

New Zealand eventually fell to 4-10 before turning its season around, winning four consecutive games to reach 8-10 by the end of December and 11 of its final 14 games. The Breakers closed the regular season with a 92-83 win over South East Melbourne in Christchurch to finish sixth with a 15-13 record and miss the playoffs on points percentage.

Glen Rice Jr played one season in the NBL. He averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 3 NBL games.