King Rice coaching Monmouth in the 2022 MAAC championship game. Photo courtesy of Bob Dea/Daly Dose of Hoops.
The CAA’s all-time all-quotable team has a new point guard. Monmouth’s King Rice took more than a few minutes yesterday to answer the handful of questions we’ve presented to every new CAA head coach in our getting to know you series before he went into candid detail on the challenges of coaching one of the nation’s youngest teams in the Hawks’ first year in the CAA as well as how he handles being the head coach of a program in a one-bid league where outside expectations tend to be defined on whether or not his program earns that one NCAA Tournament bid. Thanks to King for his time and to Monmouth SID Gary Kowal for setting up the interview.
How would you describe your favorite spot-on campus to those of us who have never been to Monmouth?
We have a beautiful, beautiful campus, We’re by the beach — a mile from the beach. Campus is beautiful. A lot of people from Jersey haven’t been on (campus) in 20 years and when they come, they’re just really, really impressed with the improvements. I’ve been here 12 years and we’ve probably had five or six new buildings in these 12 years, We have a bowling alley now, we have a new business school — when I got here, it was already a new one, we added a building there, we added a dorm, we added a football stadium, basically, the seats of a football stadium. I think the crown jewel of the campus is obviously our arena. Then if you want a food spot, we go to Scala’s down on West End.
What’s a memorable Monmouth sporting moment, memory and/or tradition that students (and coaches) become aware of as soon as they arrive on campus?
I think for the last 12 years, I’d say Justin Robinson breaking the (school) scoring record. Couple years ago, we won a whole bunch of high-major games. Before me, there was three (NCAA) Tournaments. I think that was something that we really hung our hat on here. We had a lot of success before with Dave (Calloway), when Dave was a player, with all the coaches here that have been here, they had a lot of success.
(Here I mentioned Monmouth played eventual national champion Duke in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, NC, hours after Hofstra lost to UCLA in Jay Wright’s final game, because that’s how I roll)
I read about that one a lot. Some of the former guys come around and every once in a while it’s on our Instagram page or our Twitter page. There’s some funny stories about the game. You’re the young team, you think we’re ready, we’re gonna this or that. And then Shane Battier and his boys went to work a little bit (laughs)
Having already done it once, what’s the most challenging part of changing leagues?
I think first off, it’s exciting. But you’re really stepping up in competition, OK? You’re stepping up in every part of it. I know there’s some great teams in the MAAC. But anytime you move up, there’s more teams. What I’m seeing — and I’m really paying attention when I walk in the buildings — the kids’ bodies look different than my kids’ bodies. We’ve got 6-5 guys, their 6-5 guy looks bigger than my 6-5 guy. I remembered when we went to the MAAC, the same thing. You think you’re at the same level as the league that’s above you, but then when you actually get there, their one through 13 is way bigger than your kids. We’ve played a lot of teams like that, that’s why I kind of did it, just so we could recruit those level kids, but it all settles out. And this league is a bigger, stronger league.
And now I’m going through it — Takayo (Siddle), what he is doing in a short period of time, it’s fun to watch. And I told him that, it’s like, hey, my man, I watched you all of last year, I’m watching you this year how you’re reaching your kids, the community down in Wilmington. I’ve had friends have that job and they didn’t do it like this. Former head coaches came in and what this man is doing, it’s like wow. I know (Stony Brook head coach) Geno (Ford) a little bit and he feels how I do, that he’s stepping up and it’s a heavy lift.
On-court stuff, I think the coaching top to bottom is a bear. I’m only four games in and the players are bigger and stronger. I think the teams that we had when we had our top teams, those teams fit in this league. My last year team fit, we would have been fine. We might have been one of the top teams last year. This year, we’re a younger group, everybody’s in a new role. We’re not so young that we should be 1-15, but that’s everybody’s in a new role and being young and now we’re playing bigger bodies. It’s tough some days.
What has been the most challenging part of working with one of the youngest rosters in the country?
When you recruit kids, at the time you’re recruiting them, you’re telling them how good they are, they’re telling you how great they’re going to be and they’re to make the pros. And everybody’s excited. And the thing I always tell recruits while I’m recruiting them: Hey man, listen bro, if you come here, here’s what I’m going to tell you: Keep your confidence up. And every kid at that time goes ‘Oh coach I’m the most confident kid ever, what are you talking about?’ And the parents go ‘Oh, you don’t got to worry about his confidence.’ I know he’s very confident, I watch him on the court. But when you get to school, keep your confidence. Because everybody loses their confidence. I lost mine. He lost his. Everybody, OK? It’s just what happens. These dudes are 22. You’re 18. They know what I do, you don’t. It’s going to take you a minute, I don’t care how good you were, Your first couple weeks, they know how to lift weights. You don’t know how to lift weights. The sprints, they know what they need to do and it just takes a minute. And they know you’re trying to take their spot, So now nobody’s your buddy. They were cool when I was on the visit. The young guys come to me and it’s like ‘Man, coach.’ Just keep your confidence. Don’t worry about it. you’re fine. I know you thought you were going to come in and everybody told you you were an impact player at Monmouth. You’ll probably be starting by the first game. And that’s what I thought too, at Carolina, But you get there and there’s guys that have been waiting three years for their turn. He’s a senior, he’s 22. You’ve got to be really good to beat that guy out. And usually young kinds can’t. And therefore, then the confidence goes down. Just keeping kids’ confidence up on a normal year — and then this year, we’ve gotten banged up by some mid-major teams, where you start looking in the mirror.
Now everyday it’s like, guys, in your life, this has not been the hardest things you’ve had to deal with. And then the other thing is you prayed to have this. And now you have everything you prayed for, but the basketball part. Ain’t going how you want. So who are you? Are you a guy that quits? You’re not that, because you wouldn’t be here if you already were a quitter. Because you’ve had harder things in your life than this. I keep my head up. You get whupped sometimes.
You’ve spoken about how a win in a conference title game doesn’t validate a program or overshadow a lengthy body of work. As much as you understand that, is it sometimes frustrating that so much of this is viewed as a zero sum/all-or-nothing game?
People are going to have their opinions. I probably agree with a bunch of them. There’s some I don’t agree with. No one — let me tell you something, NO ONE, there’s not a person on the planet that wanted to be in the tournament more than me at Monmouth. I don’t care how much you do, I don’t care how much you cheer, I don’t care how much you whatever — no one wants to be in there more than I did or do. I’m the coach here. I’ve always made it. I won everything my whole life. This one, I ain’t got that. Does that mean I’m a failure now? Everybody decide how you want to decide. How I see it? I’ve raised a family here. I’ve got a son that’s a senior at Bucknell. I’ve been married 26, 27 years. I’ve got a little son that’s 11. Ask everybody around here, you’re going to see him somewhere. Nobody’s been in any trouble on our team. I’ve graduated everybody. And we have a solid, solid program. It’s better than when I got here. People talk about it. I couldn’t go out of town when I got here, no one knew the name of my school. And now people are mad at me we haven’t gotten to the tournament. And it’s like, well, I’m sorry. You don’t want to get there more than me. And even saying that, people will get mad that I said (that). Guys, I’m the coach here. No one wants to win more than the coach. Not the kids. Not the parents. Not the AD. Not the president. Not the alums. No one wants to win more than the coach. No one wears it more than me.
We’re in a tough, tough business. But like I tell the kids, I’ve had harder things in my life and I’m still standing. Lot of people had me counted out a long time ago and we’re right here and it’s been a great experience for me and my family.
When they offered me the job, I was the happiest guy in the world. I’m still the happiest guy in the world. Obviously, I know you don’t do a good job, you get fired. I’m here. It’s (year) 12. I started a five-year deal this year. It’s good. Here’s the thing, it’s what I tell everybody, too: I am not Monmouth University, I’m the basketball coach. There was Monmouth University and a basketball team before me. I get to do it for these years while they accept me for being the coach. Someday — hopefully not anytime soon — there’s going to be another person at Monmouth as the basketball coach, at some point. And when that day comes, I’m going to support that person no matter what happens because I’ve spent, right now, up to 12 years of my life here. I’ve never lived anywhere else more than here, except Binghamton, New York.
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