Youngstown’s pride

By John Kovach

Boardman High grad Mike Rice has Robert Morris in the Big Dance

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. — A

Boardman High graduate who was a standout for the Spartans’ basketball team will be coaching in today’s NCAA

basketball tournament against one of the top teams in the nation.

Mike Rice, the son of former Youngstown State basketball coach Mike Rice Sr., guided the Robert Morris University team to a berth in the NCAA tournament against No. 2-seeded Michigan State, in his second season at the helm.

Robert Morris (24-10, 15-3 Northeast Conference) will meet Michigan State (26-6) today in a first-round game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., at about 9 p.m.

It will be the No. 15-seeded Colonials’ first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1992, and sixth overall.

Rice learned about his team’s NCAA selection Sunday along with the rest of the Colonials as the team watched the annual Selection Sunday in the Charles L. Sewall Center.

“I was very excited to see our name up there. The reaction of our players, it’s priceless,” said Rice. “When you spend so much time with them, you see the dedication and the hard work they’ve put in, you’re happy for them,” added Rice, whose Colonials gained an automatic NCAA bid by outlasting Mount St. Mary’s, 48-46, last Wednesday in the championship game of the NEC tournament at the Sewall Center.

“Michigan State is a great program that has a great tradition with a great coach, but we’re excited about taking on Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans,” said Rice.

Last year Rice, in his first season at the helm, directed Robert Morris to a 26-8 record, including a 16-2 mark in the NEC to win the league’s regular-season championship. The Colonials also won a berth in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time in the program’s 32-year history before losing their first game to Syracuse, 87-81.

Rice, who was a three-year basketball starter for both Boardman High and Fordham University, has a two-year record of 50-18 at Robert Morris, including 31-5 in the NEC.

He credits his early success to three main reasons.

“Former coach Mark Schmidt, who now is at St. Bonaventure, left a talented group that had some success and never made the postseason,” said Rice.

Also, “We were very fortunate to bring in some recruits to add to the depth. We probably have a deeper team than any team we are facing in our league.”

And, “[Our players] bought into what I wanted to focus on, to really be a running-attack team trying to put [opponents] on their heels; and putting defensive pressure on the basketball.”

Rice lauded his Boardman coach, Al Burns, and fondly recalled his playing days with the Spartans.

“Burns taught me a lot of life lessons that I needed to know,” said Rice, who especially recalled his junior year when he was joined in the starting lineup by D.J. Ogilvie, Brad Smith, Herbie Williams and Brad Barringer.

“We had a great junior year and had a great run. We were all juniors and made it to the Canton regionals.”

While at Boardman, Rice was a two-time All-Northeast Ohio and two-time Steel Valley All-Conference selection.

Regarding his father’s coaching career at YSU, Rice remembers most the two Ohio Valley Conference championship games the Penguins lost.

“They were two very close losses,” said Rice, who said his family lived in Boardman for seven or eight years.

“My sister still lives in the area. Her name is Susan Cianciullo and she lives in Canfield. She is one of the tennis players [in the family].”

A native of Pittsburgh, Rice was raised in a basketball family as his father, Mike Sr., coached Duquesne (1979-82) and Youngstown State (1982-87), as well as the Youngstown Pride professional team.

Mike Sr. now is the television color commentator for the Portland Trailblazers.

In addition, Rice’s mother, Kathy, played collegiate basketball at Duquesne, while his sisters, Susan and Stephanie, each played college tennis at Syracuse.

Rice lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Kerry, and their two children, son Michael (10) and daughter Katie (8).

kovach@vindy.com