Skyrockets Ink Former Dakota Wizard

Published on November 2, 2007 under Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Minot Skyrockets News Release


Minot, ND - November 2, 2007 - He brought three league championships to Bismarck, and now he plans to bring one to the Magic City. The Minot Skyrockets are excited to announce the signing of Kevin Rice, pending league approval.

Rice is a 6-4 shooting guard who started his professional career in the International Basketball Association (IBA) with the Rapid City Thrillers in 1998. The following year he went on to play for the Dakota Wizards in Bismarck, and in 2000-01, he averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and won an IBA Championship. Rice was also named to the All-IBA 1st Team for his dominant play.

After his two years with the Wizards, Rice spent a summer overseas in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. In 2001, he rejoined the Dakota Wizards for their first season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). He averaged 9.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. He also had a league-leading 2.7 steals per game. The Wizards won their first CBA championship, and Rice was named to the 2002 CBA All-Defensive Team.

Rice played one final year with the Wizards in 2002-2003. He put up 13.1 points per game and recorded 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. He was again named to the All-Defensive Team, and for the first time was selected to the 2003 All-CBA 2nd Team and picked as the CBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Rice then headed overseas to play in Venezuela and Turkey, where he had 13.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg and was named 2004 All-Turkish League Defense Player of the Year and selected to the All-Defensive Team.

In 2004, Rice played in the Southern California Summer Pro League for the Los Angeles Clippers. Another season in Turkey (2004-05) produced an average of 12.7 points. He led the league in steals (3.5 per game) and was selected as a Turkish League All-Star. He then moved on to the Israeli Premier League (2005-06) where he had 10.8 ppg before being injured.

This past season, Rice returned to North Dakota as an Assistant Coach for the Dakota Wizards in their first year in the NBA Developmental League. Once again, Rice helped bring a trophy to Bismarck as the Wizards won the 2007 D-League Championship.

"The signing of Kevin Rice is a no-brainer. He is very well known in the area. He is a proven winner, a veteran player, and we expect big things out of him," said Head Coach Chris Daleo.

The Skyrockets begin training camp next week on November 8th. The first game in the Magic City will be on November 30th against the Rio Grande Valley Silverados. Season tickets are available by calling 839-SLAM. Visit the team online at www.minotskyrockets.com .

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