Rice had a highlight-worthy sequence: a groundball pickup, a toe drag, and a near finish behind the back. Could he have finished without going BTB? Probably. But it’s a showcase, not the state championship. His handles were serious, and he looked comfortable and reliable with the ball in his stick. Taking a closer look at his feet, Rice has what it takes to match up with more athletic dodgers. He pairs that footwork with a cross-check that knocks opponents off their line and a V-hold that keeps righties in check up the hashes. That tracked with what I saw at PLC over the summer, when Rice matched up against a top West Coast player who is now committed to a Division I program. In the stretches I watched, Rice held him without a point—a notable contrast to the production that same player put up in the other games I saw at that event.