Louisville Remaining a Top Option for '23 Guard Lawrent Rice

The longtime Cardinals target is still showing interest in the program even after a coaching change.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Dayton (Oh.) Wayne's Lawrent Rice has been on the Louisville men's basketball program's radar for a long time now. When COVID-19 recruiting restrictions were lifted in June of 2021, the Class of 2023 guard took an official to visit to campus, and was offered a scholarship soon after.

Louisville’s recruitment of Rice took a step further when he included the Cardinals in his top eight schools, which he dropped back in mid-January. But just over a week later, the program mutually parted ways with head coach Chris Mack, throwing a wrench in the recruitment.

"Once I got that news, it was kind of heartbreaking. They were at the top of my list of schools," Rice told Louisville Report at the Nike EYBL stop in Louisville on Saturday.

But instead removing the Cardinals as an option, Rice decided to maintain a relationship with the coaches that remained on staff for the rest of the season. Incredibly, he says his relationship with Mike Pegues, Kahil Fennell and others "didn't fall off", and he still has one to to this day.

"I'm still talking to them and building relationships. It was tough, but you just got to keep moving forward and push through."

That relationship also translated over to the new staff at Louisville. When Kenny Payne was hired to be the Cardinals' next head coach, Rice immediately got to work on researching him, and liked what he saw.

"I did my research on him, he's played at Louisville too. I think it was a great pick up for them," Rice said. "The staff that they are building now, it looks great. I love it right now."

Not only did Rice still have interest in Louisville even with the change in staff, Payne and his coaching staff have remained in contact with Rice and shown interest in him.

"I've talked to them. They've told me about a couple guys they're recruiting, I think I can fit in with those guys also," he said. "We're still building relationships, that's what it's all about. ... I've talked to him about player development and things like that, it's just good."

Even though the staff has completely changed since he was first offered scholarship nearly a year ago, Louisville still remains a top option for Rice.

"I love Louisville," he said. "It's a great city, it's a great place to be, it's a basketball town. It's a great place to be in general.

"When I was younger playing AAU, we'd have tournaments here and in Cincinnati. I came here a couple of times just to play basketball, and I can obviously tell it's a basketball town. It's just good being here."

For the moment, Rice is just letting his recruitment play out, and doesn't have any concrete plans regards a commitment date. He has a pair of upcoming visits to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, and hasn't ruled out a return visit to Louisville either. Though he already has a top eight, Rice said that he should have an updated list of top schools "within about a month."

The 6-foot-3, 170-pound combo guard had a solid showing at Nike EYBL's stop in Louisville. He helped All Ohio go 4-1 over the three-day event, averaging 10.4 points and 4.2 assists per game, while shooting 17-26 from the field, 4-6 on threes and 14-18 at the free throw line. He ranks as high as the No. 134 player in the nation according to Rivals.

On multiple occasions, Rice showcased his abilities as a playmaking combo guard. He was able to score from all three levels, display handles that could easily beat defenders off the dribble, and demonstrate incredible court vision. As the summer progresses, he's working to improve those abilities every day.

"Of course my body, that's a big part of the next level," Rice said when asked what part of his game he wants to work on. "Catch-and-shoot threes, you got to be able to knock those down. Just things that translate to the next level. I'm working on all that, ball handling, finishing around the rim, floaters."

(Photo of Lawrent Rice: Matt McGavic - Louisville Report)

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