After beating cancer, Myles Rice hopes to lead Washington State on an NCAA Tournament run
It was Myles Rice’s mom’s birthday and he needed to call her.
It makes sense for a son to call his mom on her birthday, especially when he is going to college roughly 2,000 miles away from home. But the Washington State guard, sitting in his head coach’s office, was reluctant to speak to her. He wasn’t calling her to wish her a happy birthday.
Rice was calling his mom to tell her he had cancer.
"It was hard for me to tell her," Rice told USA TODAY Sports.
His mind was racing as he explained to his mother he had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, thinking about life, basketball and what this would mean for his future as he had yet to even play a game of college basketball. But as chaos reigned in his head, Rice’s parents kept him steady. They told him he was going to get through this, and eventually, he’d be able to play basketball again.
Not only has he gotten on the court, but now he’s become a star. More than a year and a half from his diagnosis, Rice has emerged as a leader on a Washington State team with its most wins since 2007-08. The Cougars finished second in the Pac-12 regular season and will play Thursday against Drake in its NCAA Tournament appearance since that 2008 campaign. And to top it off, Rice was named the Pac-12 freshman of the year.
And if it were up to him, he wouldn’t change anything about his journey.
"Everything that I went through just allows me to be grateful that I'm here to play the game that I love," Rice said.
How does Georgia recruit end up at Washington State?
Rice was part of the unique 2021 recruiting class in that most of his recruitment while playing at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia was done virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through connections, he popped up on Washington State head coach Kyle Smith’s radar. But the problem was he didn’t get the opportunity to visit Washington State, nor did he even get the chance to meet Smith in person. Instead, Smith and his staff watched Rice play a “spectacular” game through Zoom.
Despite being impressed with Rice’s skill, Smith wasn’t sure if a player attending high school just south of Atlanta would be willing to go across the country to attend college in rural Pullman, Washington. But the Cougars were the only major school to offer Rice, and he figured if Smith was willing to take a chance on him despite never meeting in-person, then he can return the favor and have trust in Washington State.
"We didn't think it made sense either," Smith said. "He was a hungry guy that wanted to prove himself, and that was the kind of guys we attract. He's like, ‘coach, if you'll still have me, I want to come.’ I said, ‘Alright, that's it.’"
It was certainly an adjustment to go from freeways to two lane streets and cold weather, but Rice was excited to play for a Cougars team that just finished above .500 for the first time since 2012 in Smith's second season at the school. But then he was asked to redshirt and sit out his first year, not something he pictured doing. It took a couple of weeks for Rice to come to terms with the decision.
"I kind of just settled into the fact that I was probably going to redshirt, and how can I be the best teammate moving forward?" he said.
The redshirt season was a blessing for Rice as he got to understand the college game while also learning from the veterans on the team. The Cougars continued to find success, winning 22 games that season and making it to the semifinals of the NIT. Now with a year of learning under his belt, Rice was eager to officially start his college basketball career.
The 'disbelief' of cancer diagnosis
It was the summer of 2022 when Rice was at his aunt’s house and she pointed out his neck was swollen. He thought it was odd. He had just been going about his typical basketball workouts, “living everyday life and everything felt normal.” So he brushed it off, figuring it would go away on its own.
But Rice’s neck continued to swell, getting to the point where he needed to go get it checked by a doctor. When that happened, doctors wanted him to do a biopsy just before the school year was set to begin.
Rice was back for school but was anxious to get the results, awaiting to hear any news. A few weeks into the semester, the team’s athletic trainer gave Rice the news he had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
"I was kind of in disbelief," he said. "When you hear cancer, you only really think of two things, the good and the bad of it. My mind just started to race."
So on Sept. 12, his mom’s birthday, Rice informed his parents of his diagnosis. Smith remembers being with him during the moment, and said even though he got such devastating news, he was proud of his approach after speaking with his family.
"Couldn't be more impressed," Smith said. "He never wavered. He said, ‘I'm gonna attack this thing, and we'll be fine.’"
Getting back to healthy, basketball
Rice was feeling defeated that he’d have to sit out another season of basketball, but he knew he had to focus on treatment. His mom moved to Pullman as he began chemotherapy in October 2022, and despite trying to be brave for his mom at his first treatment, he was “super nervous” because he didn’t know how the chemotherapy drugs would react with his body.
"It was kind of scary because I've never been in that type of situation before," Rice said.
It was after the second chemotherapy session when Rice said he began to get hope and faith that he’d eventually be back in healthy condition. The days were still hard. He didn’t have energy to do much and his appetite was nonexistent.
But on those days that were better than most as his body got adjusted to treatment, you best believe Rice was trying to get in the gym. His doctor told him he couldn’t do anything contact based, so he “took what she said verbatim” and would sneak onto basketball courts to get shots in since he technically wasn’t breaking any rules. Smith recalled several instances of Rice wanting to practice around the team and him obliging.
The chemotherapy sessions were every two weeks and lasted five hours until March 2023, when he got to ring the bell. Despite being done with treatment, Rice still wasn’t sure if his condition would improve.
Then on June 1, when he was at a golf course back home in Georgia with his dad, Rice was informed he was in remission. Rice was ecstatic, and to celebrate, he was back in the gym the next day.
Finally suiting up for Washington State
With cancer now in his rearview mirror, Rice was finally preparing for his first season of basketball since 2021. Despite how eager he was, the Washington State staff was cautious in ramping up for the season.
Smith said Rice struggled in the first three weeks of practice as he tried to get up to speed, but Rice said what played a major role was teammates encouraging him as he got back into the swing of things. Eventually, Rice got back to the form that made him a prized recruit for the Cougars, and he was in the starting lineup for the season opener against Idaho.
There were some nerves, but Rice was too excited to play his first game in Beasley Coliseum. His family was there, and he got to play in front of the Pullman community “that has been behind me through everything.”
It was a solid start, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. But it only got better as the season progressed. Rice was a difference maker all season, finishing the regular season averaging 15.3 points per game, while ranking in the top five in the Pac-12 in assists (3.9) and steals (1.6) per game. It was a no-brainer he won the conference’s top freshman award.
"He's just really risen to the occasion," Smith said. "He's probably exceeded our expectations."
Smith calls Rice the quarterback of the team – fitting since Rice said he played football growing up – and adding he sees a striking resemblance to a player he coached while an assistant at Saint Mary’s: NBA veteran Patty Mills.
"They have the same qualities," Smith said. "They just believe they belong. They're not afraid to make mistakes, not afraid to fail. And they just keep getting better."
Being compared to an NBA player is quite the compliment given how exceptional Rice has been, but he said it’s easy to have success when he knows his teammates have his back on and off the court, just like they showed when first came back to the team.
"It's just a lot better feeling when you have guys behind you that believe and trust in you that you're gonna go out there and make the best play," Rice said. "I’m playing basketball with a bunch of guys that love to see me succeed."
'It's a miracle'
Rice’s success is just one part of the special season brewing for Washington State. Smith was named the Pac-12 coach of the year as he led his team to its most conference wins since 1982-83. The Cougars earned a No. 7 seed in the tournament.
Washington State has the chance to advance in its bracket, but regardless of what happens, Rice knows the team will have fun on its journey to the Final Four. It doesn’t take long to see how animated the team can get during games, something Rice will take credit for helping launch during his redshirt season.
Plus, the past two years have given Rice a chip on his shoulder “that nobody can take away” from him. He looks at his time battling cancer as just one part of his story, and any success he and the team have shows everyone that supported him what happens when battling through adversity.
"I'm just super grateful that I can go out here and play at such a high level and just show them that everything it put me through is paying off and it's gonna continue to pay off," he said. "It's been nothing but love, and that's kind of what got me through."
Rice’s coach is proud of him for publicly sharing the obstacle he faced, calling it an inspiration to anyone that is or knows someone battling cancer. Beating it was one thing, but turning into the star player Rice has become right after cancer truly is something his coach can’t help but marvel at.
"He's ran through so many obstacles, and he's got himself in this position so quickly," Smith said. “It's a miracle.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Myles Rice leads Washington State in NCAA Tournament after cancer
