Kansas Jayhawks newcomer MJ Rice scores 18 points in Bill Self’s camp scrimmage
Bill Self’s 750 campers were sound asleep in their campus dorms when Kansas men’s basketball newcomer guard MJ Rice checked into his McCarthy Hall apartment early Wednesday morning.
“He got here at 4 a.m, laced up his sneakers and was hooping really well,” KU sophomore forward KJ Adams said Wednesday afternoon.
Adams, who scored 16 points, including the winning basket in the Blue team’s 81-79 victory over the Red squad in Self’s campers scrimmage Wednesday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse, was certainly impressed with Rice’s summer debut, albeit in a losing cause.
Rice, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound McDonald’s All-American out of Prolific Prep in Napa, California, just 11 hours after rolling into Lawrence for the start of summer school following a long travel day, scored 18 points in a variety of ways.
Rice hit a pair of threes from the corner and also had buckets off rebounds and drives to the goal.
“I like his jumper. His jumper is really smooth,” Adams said. “I expect big things from him. Being an All-American, there’s a target on your back. He’s handled it really well,” Adams added of Rice, who is originally from Creedmore, North Carolina.
KU redshirt freshman guard Kyle Cuffe — he scored 11 points for the winning Blue team — said Rice “isn’t going to back down from anybody. He’s going to keep attacking, keep attacking. No matter if he took a shot that missed, he’s always thinking ‘next play, next play.’’’
All three of KU’s scholarship freshmen who played in the camp game (Zuby Ejiofor is not in town yet) scored in double figures. Forward Ernest Udeh scored 16 points for the Red Team, while Gradey Dick had 10 points for the winning Blue squad.
“Ernest is a big, really strong guy,” Adams said of Udeh, a 6-10, 230-pound McDonald’s All-American out of Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, Florida.
“He is a good, raw athlete that I think can really help us. Once he gets experience I think he’s going to be really good for us.
“Ernest has a lot of energy. He was ready to be here in front of all these campers. I think he brought a lot of energy to get a lot of rebounds, putbacks today,” Adams noted.
Dick, a 6-7, 195-pound small forward out of Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, cashed one three-pointer in the campers game.
“Grady is kind of a smooth, even-keel guy, never gets too high or low,” Adams said of the McDonald’s All-American and Gatorade national player of the year who is from Wichita.
“He’s already pretty good. I think his game will elevate even more since he’s playing against really good competition now,” Adams added.
Guard Joseph Yesufu hit six threes and finished with a game-high 30 points for the winning Blue team, while forward Zach Clemence had 19 points and guard Dajuan Harris 11 for the Red team. Clemence hit three threes.
“Joe is always in that (scoring) mood,” Adams said of Yesufu, who has played two years at Drake and one season at KU. “We didn’t see it last year because he really didn’t have an opportunity. Joe is a really good player. I expect big things from him the next couple years.”
Yesufu delivered the ball to Adams and gained an assist on a game-winning dunk that Adams flushed with two seconds left.
“I did know the dunk was for the win,” Adams said. “When it got to the 1:30 mark, me and Joe had to lock in for a little bit to get the win. Nobody likes to lose and hear it in the locker room.”
Cuffe said Adams, a 6-7, 225-pound sophomore out of Westlake High in Austin, Texas, is primed for a big season.
“Seeing KJ’s game develop from last year to this year is amazing,” Cuffe, a redshirt freshman guard from New York, said. “He came in as a hustle guy, was going to dunk everything and play defense. Now he’s able to shoot, put the ball on the floor. His game has evolved into something new.”
Two players who could have played were held out of the scrimmage. Kevin McCullar sprained his ankle at the recent G League Elite Camp, while Bobby Pettiford is coming off last February’s surgery to repair a core muscle in Pettiford’s pelvic area. Pettiford practiced on Tuesday.
Jalen Wilson, who recently announced plans to return to school after working out for NBA teams for several weeks, did not play. He’s not yet on campus for summer session.
New walk-on guard Wilder Evers played but did not take a shot. Mayson Quartlebaum, who played at Lawrence High and is now at Missouri-St. Louis, played in the scrimmage and had two points. Former KU guard Elijah Johnson played and scored seven points.
Blue 81, Red 79
Unofficial scoring
Blue (81): Joseph Yesufu 30, KJ Adams 16, Kyle Cuffe 11, Gradey Dick 10, Cam Martin 8, Dillon Wilhite 6, Mason Quartlebaum (former Lawrence High player who is not on KU’s team) 2.
Red (79): Zach Clemence 19, MJ Rice 18, Ernest Udeh 16, Dajuan Harris 11, Michael Jankovich 8, Elijah Johnson 7.
x-Blue scoring was off by two points.
