Kansas basketball: MJ Rice the latest Jayhawk to enter transfer portal

After Bobby Pettiford, Joseph Yesufu, and Zach Clemence announced that they were transferring last week, yet another bench player from this year’s team is looking to find a new school to play at.

The Kansas basketball team has already found themselves in a tough spot just weeks after their Round of 32 exit to the Arkansas Razorbacks. Many players from this year’s roster have decided to enter the transfer portal and leave the University of Kansas, and freshman guard MJ Rice was added to that list today.

Rice received limited playing time throughout the 2022-23 season, which likely played a massive role in why he decided to depart from Lawrence, Kansas.

In 23 games played, Rice averaged 7.5 minutes per game, 2.2 points per game, and shot 40.8 percent from the field. Rice never tapped into his full potential with Kansas, and it is a shame that that day will never come.

Head coach Bill Self had high praise for the young talent, and it will be interesting to see who he and his staff go after in the transfer portal to replace the players who have decided to leave. The Jayhawks have a lot to think about during the offseason, but knowing Self, he will get the right guys to compete for a national championship in 2023-24 — at the end of the day, he always does.

MJ Rice had hefty expectations since his arrival on campus, considering he was a five-star recruit and All-American talent. However, his lack of defensive effort and questionable decision-making put him in an unfavorable situation early in the year. Rice transferring is an odd situation because he was in a position to play a solid amount of minutes for the next three years of eligibility he had at Kansas. His departure is not an absolute shock, but it shows how the college basketball scene is changing.

The Jayhawks have lost, for the most part, their entire bench from this season. It will be interesting to see how it plays out for the men leaving and where they will end up playing basketball next year. MJ Rice can be a game changer for several programs in the country, and hopefully, he will find the right option during his transfer portal process.

At the moment, Bill Self has a lot of pieces to fill on the roster if he wants the program to contend for another Big 12 title, along with a deeper March Madness run than 2022-23. The KU fanbase will put all their faith into Self and his coaching staff. It will be a long turnaround until Jayhawk basketball is back, but it will be exciting to see the various new faces during the 2023-24 campaign.