Texas Men’s Basketball signs Sir’Jabari Rice
AUSTIN, Texas — Sir’Jabari Rice has signed an Athletic Scholarship Agreement (ASA) to play basketball next season at The University of Texas, head coach Chris Beard announced Tuesday. Rice, who played the last four seasons at New Mexico State University, will join the Longhorns for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
Rice (6-4, 180), a guard from Houston, Texas, played in 111 career games (74 starts) and registered 1,106 points (10.0 ppg), 479 rebounds (4.3 rpg) and 221 assists (2.0 apg) while converting 42.4-percent from the floor (355-837) and 78.0-percent from the free throw line (248-318) in his four years at New Mexico State. He was a three-time All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) selection, earning first-team honors as a sophomore in 2019-20 and second-team accolades in 2020-21 (junior) and 2021-22 (senior).
During his senior season in 2021-22, Rice played and started in 32 of a possible 34 games and averaged 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-best 3.2 assists in 32.4 minutes per contest. He reached double figures in scoring in 22 games and topped the 20-point mark in four contests while adding a pair of double-doubles. Rice paced the Aggies to a 27-7 overall record (14-4 WAC, first) and earned WAC All-Tournament Team honors while leading New Mexico State to the WAC Tournament title. He played 35 minutes and posted nine points and four assists in the 70-63 victory against No. 21/21 and fifth-seed UConn in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64, marking the program’s first NCAA tourney win since 1993.
As a junior in 2020-21, he played and started in 18 of a possible 20 games and averaged a team-best 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 30.2 minutes per contest while leading New Mexico State to a 12-8 record (7-6 WAC). He reached double digits in scoring in 13 games, including three 20-point performances. Rice converted 46.9-percent from the floor (82-175) and 81.6-percent from the free throw line (40-49) during the year.
During his sophomore year in 2019-20, Rice played in 30 of a possible 31 games (19 starts) and averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 26.3 minutes per contest while pacing the Aggies to a 25-6 mark (16-0 WAC, first). He ranked second on the team in scoring and minutes, third in assists and fourth in rebounding. Rice converted 46.6-percent from the floor (124-266), including a 38.5-percent clip from three-point range (50-130), and 82.7-percent from the free throw line (86-104) on the season. He reached double figures in scoring in 21 games, including five 20-point efforts, and recorded a pair of double-doubles. Rice helped the Aggies secure the WAC regular-season title and end the year on a 19-game winning streak before the postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a redshirt freshman in 2018-19, Rice played in 31 of a possible 35 games (five starts) and averaged 3.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per contest while helping New Mexico State to a 30-5 record (15-1 WAC, first). He reached double digits in scoring twice. Rice redshirted during the 2017-18 season.
Rice was a two-year letterman at Fort Bend Marshall High School (Houston, Texas). A Class 5A all-state selection by the University Interscholastic League (UIL) and a second-team all-state choice by TexasHoops.com as a senior, he led Fort Bend Marshall to a 32-8 overall record and advanced to the 2017 Class 5A state championship game. (via Texas Release)
