Class Of 2010 Champaign Centennial Star Rayvonte Rice Of The Rising Stars Continues To Sizzle As One Of The Hottest Uncommitted Prospects In The State Of Illinois

Class Of 2010 Champaign Centennial Star Rayvonte Rice Of The Rising Stars Continues To Sizzle As One Of The Hottest Uncommitted Prospects In The State Of Illinois

Cavan Walsh
August 18, 2009

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Class of 2010 Champaign Centennial star Rayvonte Rice of the Rising Stars is one of the hottest uncommitted prospects in the state of Illinois. Rice, who last year led Centennial to the IHSA Class 3A state title, has started taking visits, and is sure to remain highly popular among college recruiters.

Rice, a 6'3" small forward, is a player who has the ability to take over games both inside and outside. Rice has seen his recruiting stock skyrocket over the past 18 months. Heading into his junior year, he was the top player for Troy Johnson's Illinois Stars team, and then proceeded to team with James Kinney (Ohio) and Jeff Johnson to lead Centennial to the IHSA Class 3A state title.

Rice continues to pile up scholarship offers from programs from around the country including Nevada, St. Louis, Ohio, Texas Christian, Drake, Illinois State, Akron, Loyola, Eastern Illinois and Western Michigan just to name a few. Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State and Cincinnati are among the high-major programs that have shown interest.

In terms of what he is looking for in a school, Rice said that he is looking for a good relationship with the coach, a nice campus, and the opportunity to get a good education. Rice also noted that his timetable to commit is geared toward April, but if the situation and timing were right he would commit early.

Rice, who starred this past spring and summer on a Rising Stars team that also featured Ohio State-bound Lenzelle Smith (Zion-Benton), recently completed an unofficial visit to the campus of Drake University, and is continuing to sort through the recruiting process.

This coming season, Rice, 6'8" Jeff Johnson and 6'7" Josh Piper are set to lead another very strong Centennial team that again figures to be front and center as they look to repeat as state champions.