Washington Wizards: Scott Brooks Will Take John Wall’s Game To Next Level

Washington Wizards: Scott Brooks Will Take John Wall’s Game To Next Level by Ben Mehic

Former Washington Wizards guard, Glen Rice Jr., has been arrested for robbery less than a year after getting shot in the leg

The Washington Wizards have rebuilt their organization and created a culture of professionalism.

After acquiring a number of established veterans – like Nene, Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza, Al Harrington, Drew Gooden and others – the Wizards reshaped their locker room and got rid of the players that were once considered “trouble.”

The Wizards weren’t in a position where they could take chances on players in the past.

Other teams, like the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, for instance, were able to gamble on players with troubled histories because their reputations as no nonsense organizations allowed them to do so.

Following a few winning seasons and the transformation of the team, the Washington Wizards became a team that could also begin to take chances on players with hopes of them reinventing themselves in D.C.

In 2013, the Wizards acquired Glen Rice Jr. from the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night.

Rice, who was a standout in the NBA Developmental League, was involved in some bad situations in college and had to take an unconventional route to the NBA.

Since he was a second-round pick and the risk was small, the Wizards gambled on Rice’s upside.

Most teams believed Rice had first-round talent, but weren’t willing to draft him because of his tarnished reputation.

Rice earned MVP honors during summer league and everyone, including the fans, became high on his potential as a prospect.

His ability to score coupled with his willingness to defend made him a prototypical shooting guard.

Unfortunately, when the season began, Rice’s immaturity resurfaced.

In a game against the Toronto Raptors, Rice was seen getting into a verbal altercation with former head coach Randy Wittman on the court.

Shortly after that occurrence, Rice was sent back down to the D-League by the Washington Wizards.

They decided not to pick up his option, instead opting to waive his contract.

Rice played in the summer league for the Orlando Magic a year later, but never got another call-up from an NBA team during the regular season.

Some time ago, Rice was reportedly shot in the leg after an incident occurred at a restaurant.

Today, less than a year after the shooting incident, Rice was arrested for robbery.

Here’s what we know … Rice was booked at 6:37 AM this morning for felony robbery, aggravated battery and possession of marijuana. He has since been released from custody. The details surrounding the incident are unclear — we’re working on it.

Rice had all the talent to have a very long career in the NBA. He stood out from his peers in a lot of ways. He had a knack for scoring the ball, but I was always surprised at how well he defended.

Washington took a chance on Rice, hoping that the team’s locker room would be enough to develop him into a professional, but it obviously wasn’t.

The 25-year-old has a ruined reputation, and his career in the NBA is likely over.

It really – to put it bluntly – sucks to see this sort of thing happen over and over.

Rice, by all accounts in Washington, wasn’t a bad dude. He seems to be troubled, for sure, and I’m surprised that he’s continued down this road.

For his sake, I really hope he gets it together. Seeing another athlete – or any person with talent – fail at such a level is heartbreaking.