Guice taking talents to Chicago
After helping the North Idaho College to an unbeaten 30-0 regular season, a 15-0 mark in the Scenic West Athletic Conference on Saturday, NIC sophomore forward Kyle Guice didn’t just stop there.
He also locked down his future, verbally committing to continue his basketball career at the University of Illinois-Chicago on Monday afternoon.
“It just felt like the right fit,” said Guice, who graduated from Lake City in 2014. “All the coaches were really nice with me and it just felt like a good connection. It’s a good environment and they’ve got a really good criminal justice program, which I’m going into. The basketball is really on the plus side. They’ve got a lot of really good talent that’s going to make some noise in the next few years.”
Guice visited with the school on Sunday and Monday before flying back to Coeur d’Alene, just in time to catch the bus to travel with his teammates to Twin Falls for the Region 18 tournament, which begins on Thursday.
Montana State, Idaho State, Hofstra, Texas State, Chaminade, Wright State also had interest in Guice, a 6-foot-7 forward.
“It’s a big difference going from high school to college,” Guice said. “They’re a little more athletic and physical, so you’ve got to have a presence in the weight room and work on your body and your game. It’s definitely helped me get to the next level. (NIC assistant coach) Coach G and (NIC head men’s basketball coach) Corey (Symons) have really helped me to get where I wanted to be.”
“The nicest thing is that Kyle’s always been a good player from back when he was in high school,” NIC coach Corey Symons said. “The nice thing about it is that he’s enjoying it and and he’s having fun. That’s the nice thing about this group is that we’re all having fun. They’re a fun group, and Kyle is enjoying it. When he came out of high school, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to play college basketball. So I think he’s found the love of the game again, and he’s just playing great right now."
At Lake City, Guice was a four-year varsity player, helping the Timberwolves to state tournament appearances in 2013 and 2014, when the Timberwolves finished third.
“I always thought I’d stay a little closer to home to play basketball,” Guice said. “The more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be a good idea to get away and see another part of the country. I was there a couple years ago on an AAU trip and really loved it. It’s probably one of my favorite cities I’ve ever been too, and I just fell in love with it. My coaches here have a good relationship with them, and I know they’re going to treat me good there. They see me playing at the four (power forward).”
At UIC, Guice will play in the Horizon League, which also features Valparaiso, Oakland, Wright State among others.
“It’s a really good league and they get a lot of support from around their league,” Guice said. “In the next couple years, it’s going to be good. Hopefully we can be one of those bracket buster teams in the coming years.”
Guice has started 29 of NIC’s 30 games, averaging 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is 58 of 156 (.372) from the 3-point line, which is second on the team in 3-point percentage.
“He is what he is, and that’s a pick and pop guy, but he can shoot it,” Symons said. “He can shoot the tar out of it. He’s kind of our dirty work guy and does all the dirty things like rebound. Toward the end of high school, he struggled with that. Watched him a lot on the AAU circuit, and he was tough as nails. He plays like he played in the 90’s. He does all the dirty work, he’s tough as nails and he’ll get in there and bang. He’s our tough guy under the basket all year.”