When Johnny Rice took a seat on the North Little Rock sidelines in 1991 for the first-time ever as an assistant coach, there was no way he could've imagined the position he'd be in or the impact he'd have on the program some three decades later.
On Thursday, he finally got a chance to reflect on that, and then some, after calling it a career.
Rice announced that he'd officially retired after a long and successful stay at one of the more tradition-rich schools in Arkansas.
"You know, I've been at North Little Rock 31 years," Rice said. "Of course, you never know when it's time to hang 'em up, but honestly, it's something I'd been thinking about for a while now. Me and my wife had been praying about it for a good while and just decided that now's the time.
"I've got the opportunity to do something else, and that's kind of a scary thought for me. But we'll see what happens."
While Rice isn't sure about what will transpire during his next venture, those around the state knew what to expect out of the Charging Wildcats, especially when he assumed the controls.
After spending 21 years as an assistant at the school, the 53-year-old took over as head coach in 2012 to begin a decade of dominance even he couldn't foreshadow. After taking over for Richard Alexander, he led the Charging Wildcats to a state title in his debut season, which was also the team's first championship since 1971, before guiding them to five more crowns (2014, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022) over the next nine years.
Rice won 82.9% (242-50) of his games during his head-coaching tenure and was a mind-blowing 120-20 mark in conference contests. All of his title-winning teams were rich in talent, from former University of Florida star KeVaughn Allen during their three-peat runs from 2013-15 to current Golden State Warrior guard Moses Moody during their dominant 2017-18 campaign.
But this past season's squad, one that featured five-star, McDonald's All-Americans Nick Smith and Kel'el Ware, may have been his best. The two helped lead North Little Rock to a 28-3 record and a final top 10 ranking in several national polls, including No. 13 by ESPN and No. 5 by MaxPreps.
Yet for Rice, it wasn't always just about basketball. The lasting relationships that he built with his players, past and present, are what he took pride in more than anything else.
"Just an unbelievable role model for everyone," said North Little Rock girls basketball Coach Daryl Fimple. "The way he interacts with his players daily and always made sure they had everything they needed to be successful. ... he is the reason for all the success they had. He loved the Lord, his family, friends, players and man did he love the entire NLR community.
"He was the biggest supporter for girls' basketball also, always made sure our kids were taken care of."
Those character traits are what endured him to other contemporaries as well. Dwight Lofton, who passed away last year after coaching for 25 seasons at Forrest City, once called Rice one of "his favorite people in the world" not just because of the way he coached games, but for how he genuinely cared for people in general.
That kind of interaction, particularly at sporting events, is something that Rice admitted he'll miss. However, North Little Rock's arena is where he made his mark, and he mentioned it'll take some time for him to get used to not being there as often as he was.
"The first time I played any organized basketball was in 1980 at North Little Rock in the seventh grade so it's been a long journey," he said. "My dream was to be the head coach at my alma mater, and I got to experience that daily for 10 years. You always want to leave a job better than what it was when you got it, and I think I've done that.
"I'm super proud of what all those kids accomplished, though. I tell people all the time that I was the most blessed coach just because of the kids that I had, and not just because of their talent. I'm sure I'll still be around sometimes at games because that's just me. But it's been a great ride."