Rice

Conference USA Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:59:49 -0500

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Conference Rank: 11th

10 year average: 8th

All-CUSA Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Stefon Jackson	UTEP	Sr
G	Robert Vaden	UAB	Sr
G	Tyreke Evans	Memphis	Fr
G	Jermaine Taylor	Central Florida	Sr
F	Jerome Jordan	Tulsa	Jr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
CHN All-Americans Robert Vaden High-Major All-Americans Stefon Jackson Jerome Jordan Jermaine Taylor Ben Uzoh Robert Vaden Jeremy Wise All-Freshman Team Tyreke Evans		Points: Stefon Jackson 23.6 Rebounds: Jerome Jordan 7.9 Assists: Jeremy Wise 4.2 Team: Memphis 79.9

Conference USA Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

?	Memphis**	CUSA	1	NCAA
47	UAB	CUSA	2	NCAA
68	Southern Miss	CUSA	3	NIT
75	UTEP	CUSA	4	NIT
106	Tulsa	CUSA	5
119	Marshall	CUSA	6
131	UCF	CUSA	7
137	Houston	CUSA	8
185	Tulane	CUSA	9
221	East Carolina	CUSA	10
260	SMU	CUSA	11
285	Rice	CUSA	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the CUSA?

Other CUSA Content

Head Coach Interviews

Larry Eustachy: Southern Miss

Mack McCarthy: East Carolina

Other

Rise & Fall: CUSA

Top Non-BCS Players: Vaden/Evans

Top Centers: Jerome Jordan

Conference USA on National TV

State of '08: Texas

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:15:15 -0400

Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

TEXAS

TEXAS - Easy one here. Texas has made ten straight NCAA Tournaments under Rick Barnes, and have reached the Sweet Sixteen or better fives times.

TEXAS A&M - From 1988 to 2004, A&M was a horrendous BCS program that managed justt one NIT appearance. But thanks to Billy Gillispie, A&M has won at least 20 games and made the postseason in four straight seasons. The future of the program is a bit less certain under Mark Turgeon.

TEXAS TECH - In Bob Knight's six full seasons, the Red Raiders made 4 NCAA Tournaments and reached the NIT semifinals. Last year's team was destined to miss the postseason regardless of who the coach was, and its hard to project what type of coach Pat Knight will be.

BAYLOR - Scott Drew took over a broken program at the start of the 03-04 season, but has managed to turn things around. Last year the team won 21 games and reached the Big Dance. Many pundits expect a Top 25 squad this year. Not bad considering the 21-53 record from '04 to '07.

UTEP - Since 2004, a year after Billy Gillispied took over, UTEP has made two NCAA Tournaments and the CBI. The Niners should once again make a postseason push (probably NIT or CBI) in 2009.

6. HOUSTON - Its been over 15 years since Houston last made the NCAA Tournament, but Tom Penders teams have been consistently competitive. His four teams have all won at least 9 games in Conference USA, and 3 made the postseason (2 NITS and the CBI last year).

7. NORTH TEXAS - Johnny Jones has quietly transformed UNT from a consistent loser into a consistent winner. The Mean Green made the Big Dance in 2007 after rolling through the Sun Belt Tournament, and were solid last year, going 17-11 against D1 teams. Once again in 2008, North Texas should be dangerous in league play.

8. SAM HOUSTON STATE - Last year's Bearkats fizzled out after a great start, and late-season SLC tournament success has been hard to come by recently. But overall, this has been the most consistently solid SLC team over the last decade, and one of the only league teams capable of knocking off big-name non-conference opponents.

9. RICE - The program finally parted ways with 16-year coach Willis Wilson, whose teams varied from good to horrible and anywhere in between. From '03 to '05, the Owls finished in the RPI Top 100, but have gone steadily downhill since. Last year's 3-27 finish was an unfortunate end to Wilson's tenure.

10. STEPHEN F AUSTIN - SFA's great 26 win season, which included wins over Oklahoma and Top 100 San Diego, came out of nowhere considering the Lumberjacks were a sub-200 RPI team the previous three seasons. SFA is the 2009 favorite to accomplish what they couldn't last year, winning the Southland tournament.

11. TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI - Ronnie Arrow did a masterful job in his tenure at TAMU-CC, turning a green D1 program into a 20-win program. But after making the Dance in 2007, Arrow left, and its hard to tell whether the program can regain a decent level of success under Perry Clark.

12. TCU - In six seasons under Neil Dougherty, TCU never finished over .500 in either the CUSA or MWC, although the 2005 team did sneak into the NIT. Former Kent State coach Jim Christian was hired in the off-season to turn things around.

13. LAMAR - In the last 7 seasons, Lamar has finished .500 or better in the SLC six times, but have never really been able to put together a dangerous postseason run.

14. UT-ARLINGTON - After making the NCAAs last year, UTA is once again one of the league favorites. In the previous 9 seasons though, the Mavs won just a single SLC Tourney game.

15. SMU - The last time SMU was any good was 2003, and the last time SMU was Tournament good was 1993. Matt Doherty was brought in to turn things around, but his teams have gone 7-25 in CUSA play.

16. UTSA - Once one of the more consistently solid Southland teams, UTSA simply hasn't been good the past few seasons. A 2009 .500 finish in the league would be a step in the right direction.

17. UTPA - Considering they've been stuck as an independent for a decade now, UTPA's minimal success isn't that bad. They've been able to beat a good amount of the in-state Southland members over the years, but haven't beaten a Top 200 team since December of 2004.

18. TEXAS STATE - In '06 & '07, this was one of the worst programs in the country, with just 8 D1 wins. That makes last year's 10-16 D1 record shockingly good.

19. TEXAS SOUTHERN - After winning the SWAC in 2003, there hasn't been much to cheer about at Texas Southern. The team has hovered around 300 in the RPI.

20. PRAIRIE VIEW - Like Texas Southern above, Prairie View hasn't been good since 2003.. but unlike Texas Southern who has at least been decent in SWAC play, the Panthers have been atrocious.

*Houston Baptist will also join D1 this season

Last: Tennessee - Next: Utah

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Morris Almond: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Tue, 15 May 2007 11:26:49 -0400

NBA Draft: Morris Almond

College: Rice

Class: Senior

Stats: ESPN.com

Position: SG/SF

Height: 6”6”

Weight: 215lbs

Accolades: Conference USA Player of the Year (07), AP Honorable Mention All-American (07), First Team All-Conference USA (07), CHN High-Major All-American Team (07), First Team All-Conference USA (06).

Scouting Report: A scoring machine who was high school teammates with the Hawk’s Josh Smith.

Strengths: Putting the ball in the hoop – Almond averaged an amazing 26.4ppg this season, made all the more impressive due to the fact he plays in a high-major conference. Great three-point shooter – averaged over 43% from deep for his collegiate career and nailed about 2.5 per game his senior year. Very good rebounder for a wing player. Can make shots under pressure and with tight defensive pressure on him. Good NBA frame. Can score on the dribble drive. Draws fouls and knocks down his free throws – took about 9 shots from the charity stripe a game his senior year, hitting 84.6% of them.

Weaknesses: Very turnover prone – averaged almost 3 turnovers for every assist his senior year. Needs to improve on taking care of the ball in order to play some shooting guard in the NBA. Didn’t always play against the top competition in college – Conference USA has been a depleted conference the past couple of years.

Projected 2007 Draft Range: Late first round pick.

Consensus: Almond could be a very good pickup for a NBA team drafting late in the first round. His ability to score and to get off his shot under tight coverage will serve him well in the League.

More 2007 NBA Draft Profiles

Current NBA Mock Draft Position

CHN's Six-Star Ranking System

= Superstar/All-NBA Potential

= Potential NBA All-Star

= Consistent NBA Starter

= 6th Man/Fringe Starter

= Career Reserve

= Fringe NBA Player/12th Man

0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues

New for 2007: Check out CHN's NBA Draft Search Engine

Rice Signs Forward Braimoh

Press Release — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:26:57 -0400

Rice University head basketball coach Willis Wilson has announced the signing of Suleiman Braimoh, Jr., from Baldwin, New York, to a National Letter of Intent to attend Rice and play basketball for the Owls starting with the 2007-08 season. Braimoh, a 6' 8," 235-pound power forward, graduated from the United Nations International School in 2006 and spent the 2006-07 season at The Lawrenceville School, a preparatory institution in Lawrenceville, N.J. He joins Joe Jakubowski (G, 6-2, 180, Rossford, Ohio/St. John's HS), Scott Saunders (C, 6-9, 240, Franklin, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy), and Jasen Williams (G, 6-3, 170, Humble, Texas/Nimitz HS) as a member of the Owls' incoming freshman class next season.

"Suleiman (Braimoh) has exceptional jumping ability and he is a force to be reckoned with around the rim," comments Wilson. "We are very fortunate to have been able to sign such a high caliber and energetic player during the spring signing period."

This past season at The Lawrenceville School, Braimoh averaged 14 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks for coach Ron Kane, in addition to producing two triple-double games last year. He was named second-team all-prep by the Trenton Times and the Trentonian and was selected to the All-Middle Atlantic Prep League team as the Big Red posted an 18-11 overall record. The prep school is best known as the one attended by Joakim Noah, of the two-time national champions University of Florida.

As a senior in 2006, at the United Nations International School in New York City, Braimoh averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks as he was named athlete of the year and league MVP. He was a two-time all-conference selection and also competed for the NYC Jaguars in AAU competition.

2007-08 Rice Basketball Incoming Freshman
Suleiman Braimoh, Jr. F 6-8 230 Baldwin, N.Y./The Lawrenceville School
Joe Jakubowski G 6-2 180 Rossford, Ohio/St. John's HS
Scott Saunders C 6-9 240 Franklin, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy
Jasen Williams G 6-3 170 Humble, Texas/Nimitz HS

- riceowls.com -

Who is College Basketball's Best Scorer?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:43:47 -0500

Rice 76 - Houston 71

Press Release — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:00:00 -0500

HOUSTON (AP) – Morris Almond scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half as Rice overcame a 24-point Houston lead in the final 15 minutes for a 76-71 win Wednesday night in front of 2,389 fans at Rice’s Autry Court. Almond also grabbed 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and ninth in his career. The Owls outscored Houston 52 to 29 in the second half.

The Cougars (6-9, 1-2 Conference USA) led 55-31 after Dion Dowell's 3-pointer with exactly 15 minutes remaining. Rice then went on a 37-12 run over the next 12:36 to take a 68-67 lead on Chris Hagan's steal and layup off an inbounds pass with 2:24 left.

Robert McKiver hit two free throws to give Houston a 69-68 lead. But the Owls (9-7, 3-0) responded with six straight points for the victory as Almond made two free throws with 1:06 left for a 70-69 Rice lead and Lorenzo Williams hit a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining for a 73-69 Owl lead after Dowell missed two free throws.

Almond then made three of four free throws in the final 19 seconds. He hit 18 of 20 free throws for the game to tie his own Rice and C-USA record for most free throws made in a game.

The Cougars used runs of 11-0 and 14-0 in the first half, helping them open a 42-24 lead at halftime.

Houston made 8 of 18 3-point attempts in the first half with McKiver connecting on four of nine attempts.

McKiver led Houston with 21 points. Oliver Lafayette added 15 and Jahmar Thorpe and Dowell each scored 11 for the Cougars.

Paulius Packevicius scored a ca

Daily Dribble: 11/26

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 00:17:24 -0500

Who will be the new #1? Florida's overtime loss to Kansas really shakes up the national polls. Pittsburgh was #3 but who have they beat? UMASS at home? Ohio State? They dont even have their best player. UCLA? The Bruins would be my choice, but Im really not sure what way the voters would go. This game should never have gone to overtime.. and this is why Bill Self is known as a great recruiter and not a great coach. His team's bonehead plays (Kaun's foul which though was a questionable call still can't happen, Wright's foul down low, and the inability to rebound the free throw miss) basically blew a 4 point lead that should have been locked up. Yes, these plays aren't directly Bill's fault, but preparation and awareness are the coaches duties. Give Darrell Arthur credit. Down the stretch it wasn't Julian Wright or Brandon Rush who made the difference for Kansas, but the freshman big man. I questioned why Arthur would choose to go to Kansas thinking that the deep and talented roster would limit his playing time. But Arthur is better than I thought and deserving of 30 minutes per game for the Jayhawks. Thank goodness I'm not a Northwestern fan. The Wildcats are one of the most painful teams to watch.. not only because they cant score and slow the game to a halt, but also because they're simply bad. Northwestern beat North Florida by 1 point, 40-39 at home yesterday. This is a North Florida team that has yet to beat a D1 team and lost to 1-4 Florida Atlantic by 15 points at home. Northwestern has a chance to bust the Big Ten's RPI by finishing below 250.. Congrats to Jackson State for a nice 71-68 win over UIC. Why is this a big deal.. because last year the SWAC conference as a whole only won 8, yes 8, non-conference games. Jackson State's victory, led by Trey Johnson's 36 points, already give them 3 non-conference wins. For the SWAC, this is a big deal. Don't be tricked by Wake Forest's 5-0 start. The Deacons started 11-2 last year beating similar talent at home, before losing 11 of 12 conference games. And that was with Gray and Williams. Smart money says a similar slide will begin within the next month. It took Butler 2 OT's to dispatch with Kent State and move to 7-0. The most likely teams to drop out of the AP poll are Tennessee and Boston College. Gonzaga, who was unranked in the AP, should move in along with Butler. Wichita State, who barely snuck into the AP Poll in 24th (but missed the Coaches Poll.. another reason why the AP is usually a better poll), picked up another huge win for the MVC by beating LSU this afternoon. This win is another monster victory for the MVC in their continued (and getting repetitive) effort to prove that their for real. Eventually it has to get to the point where these types of wins are no longer consider "shocking." Less publicized but equally impressive yesterday were wins by Illinois State at St. John's and Creighton against George Mason. Bradley, who was expected to struggle this year, lost their first game by 4 at Illinois. This was a good showing for the Braves, as was Missouri State's OT loss to Oklahoma State following their big win against Wisconsin. When all is said and done though, Wichita State will probably be the only MVC team ranked this Monday. Rice, behind heralded Morris Almond, was expected to be a contender for an at-large bid and 2nd place in the CUSA. But the Owls are now 2-4 and Almond has become a one-man show. He had 42 in yesterday's loss to 1-3 Utah, but the rest of the team combined for just 21 points on 8 of 31 shooting. Rice needs Lorenzo Williams back and contributing to have any chance at making noise the rest of the way. Jon Teitel put together a short piece on the statistical exploits of Nevada's Nick Fazekas yesterday. Coming into the day, Fazekas was 91 points shy of reaching the 2,000 point plateau. Only 5 players, Rick Barry, Bill Bradley, Larry Bird, Christian Laettner, and Keith Van Horn have 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and hit over 50% FG's and 80% FT's. Fazekas, who added 28 points and 15 rebounds last night in a win over Santa Clara, will join this amazingly select club in a few weeks. In case you were wondering, Syracuse doesn't have a real road game outside of New York state until January 7th. If you were wondering, that will end up being 14 games at home or neutral sites and 1 road game in Buffalo by that time. One would think there's no highways or airport in and out of Syracuse.

Rice Basketball Signs Three

Press Release — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:15:09 -0500

Rice University head basketball coach Willis Wilson has announced the signing of three recruits to National Letters of Intent to attend Rice and play basketball for the Owls starting with the 2007-08 season. Signing with Owls were Joe Jakubowski from Rossford, Ohio and St. John's Jesuit High School (Toledo, Ohio), Scott Saunders from, Franklin, Tenn., and Battle Ground Academy, and Jasen Williams from Humble, Texas, and Nimitz High School (Houston, Texas).

As a junior for the Titans of St. John's Jesuit H.S., Jakubowski, a 6' 2" guard, averaged 15 points a game, seven rebounds and 6 assists for coach Ed Heintschel. He is the son of Doug and Kay Jakubowski.

"Joe plays with a passion and has fun on the court," says Wilson. "He's a deft passer with a nice three-point stroke to match."

Saunders, a 6' 9" center, averaged a double-double last year as a junior for Battle Ground Academy and coach Gary Smith. Saunders poured in 17 points per game and grabbed 10 rebounds a game in addition to blocking 4 shots per game for the Wildcats. He was named to the Tennessee Class A Div. II all-state as a junior. Saunders transferred from Jesuit High School in New Orleans, La. to Battle Ground Academy following Hurricane Katrina. He is the son of Larry and Debbie Saunders.

"Scott brings needed height and a skill-level above and beyond with what we've had this early in his career. He does it all - shoots, rebounds, passes - he's a throw-back to the way post players played in the '70's, comments Wilson."

Williams is a 6' 3" guard who averaged 12 points per game, 4 assists, three rebounds, and three steals for the Nimitz Cougars under coach Randy Gilmer. Jasen is the son of Darrell and Twanna Williams.

"Jasen has so much potential and so much up-side. When his body grows into his game he will be an explosive scorer," states Wilson. "He's a nice combo guard who can make other guys better and can take into his own hands when he needs to."

With the signing of Jakubowski, Saunders, and Wiliams Rice basketball has completed its recruiting for next year's incoming class.

2007-08 Incoming Class
Joe Jakubowski G 6-2 180 Rossford, Ohio/St. John's HS
Scott Saunders C 6-9 240 Franklin, Tenn./Battle Ground Academy
Jasen Williams G 6-3 170 Humble, Texas/Nimitz HS

Who is the Best Mid-Major Player?

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 12:28:44 -0500

Conference USA Preview

CHN — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 23:49:11 -0500

Conference Previews | Top 144 | 06-07 Preview Home

Conference USA Preview

Conference Rank: 12th

Conference Page

All-Conference

Player of the Year - Morris Almond, Rice, G

Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis, G

Oliver Lafayette, Houston, G

Josh Peppers, UCF, F

Joey Dorsey, Memphis, F/C

2nd Team

Lorenzo Williams, Rice, G

Lanny Smith, Houston, G

David Gomez, Tulane, F

Devon Pearson, SMU, F

Jeremy Mayfield, UAB, F

Nat'l	Team (Click for Preview)	Conf	Tourney
21	Memphis	1	NCAA
49	Houston	2	NIT
72	Rice	3	NIT
83	UAB	4	NIT
151	Tulsa	5
175	UTEP	6
184	UCF	7
193	Tulane	8
230	Southern Miss	9
251	SMU	10
292	Marshall	11
309	East Carolina	12

CUSA Preview Articles:

CUSA Preseason Coaches Poll & All-Conference

Preseason Polls:

Best Mid-Major Team?