Former Michigan basketball player Glen Rice has been in the news for a week because he's mentioned as having "linked up" with the future Alaska governor in 1987 in the upcoming Sarah Palin biography by Joe McGinniss.

According to an excerpt released today on Deadspin, Rice enjoyed his time with Palin.

Rice in the book:

"Even after I left Alaska, we talked a lot on the phone. I think right up until the time she got married. She was a gorgeous woman. Super nice. I was blown away by her. Afterward, she was a big crush that I had. I talked about her for a long time. Only good things. She was a well-rounded young lady. It's amazing the way that's stayed with me. I think the utmost of her and I felt that way from the start."

Rice and the Michigan basketball team played in the Great Alaska Shootout in November 1987. At that time, Palin was a reporter on the sports desk of a television station in Anchorage.

Rice, a 20-year-old junior in 1987, helped Michigan go 2-1 at the Shootout on the Wolverines' way to a 26-8 season.