Southern California guard Rodney Rice will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, coach Eric Musselman said.
Rice has missed the past five contests. He has averaged 20.3 points, 6.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in six games with the Trojans. Rice delivered the second triple-double in school history when he had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Illinois State on Nov. 14.
“Rodney is an instrumental part of our team,” Musselman said. “He is a leader for us and has been the offensive spark that guided us through crucial games earlier this season. We will miss his energy on the court, but know his leadership will still be crucial to our team’s success. We look forward to watching him attack his rehab and come back even stronger.”
Rice was in his first season at USC after transferring from Maryland. He also played at Virginia Tech earlier in his career and is averaging 13.6 points over 50 career games.
The Trojans also added guard Kam Woods to the program on Thursday, according to Musselman.
Woods averaged 14.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 30 games (28 starts) for Robert Morris last season. North Carolina State is one of the other former destinations of Woods, who is at his sixth school in six seasons.
“Kam brings a tremendous competitive spirit to our program and is a proven winner,” Musselman said. “Kam has been an integral part of an NCAA Tournament bid at Robert Morris and a Final Four run at NC State. Kam will provide us with defensive toughness and has experience at the guard position.”
Woods has a 12.7 career scoring average in 97 games at the Division I level.
Daniel Hackett was the first USC player to get a triple-double as he had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against South Carolina early in the 2007-08 season.
The Trojans (11-1) host the Division III UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs on Sunday. The contest replaces a game with Brown that was canceled due to the recent shootings on the Brown campus.
–Field Level Media
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