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Owls add shooting guard Quincy Olivari to 2019 class

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Rice basketball continues to grow their 2019 recruiting class. Guard Quincy Olivari was excited to jump on board and join the Owls.

Scott Pera has been a busy man. A week removed from having only preferred walk-on Ben Moffat in the fold, Rice basketball added three players to the 2019 class. Power forward Zach Crisler jumped aboard first, but he was quickly followed center Max Fiedler and guard Quincy Olivari.

A 6-foot-3 combo guard from Atlanta, GA, Olivari was the final piece of a three-player haul brought in by Pera in a few days time, and he could be an important piece for the Owls on the court next season. He held an offer from Charleston Southern and had drawn interest from Cornell prior to pulling the trigger and committing to the Owls.

For Olivari, there wasn’t any need to wait around for more offers. “Rice is a great fit for me. It’s in the perfect place with great academics,” he said. Olivari continued, sharing high praise of the Owls’ coaching staff, led by Scott Pera. “Coach Pera is a great coach and he’s coached some great players. He’s a legend in the game and I look forward to playing for him.”

As to where he’ll fit once he gets to South Main, Olivari projects to be a fast-paced, accurate shooter who can play both ways. His quickness on the court will be crucial for winning fast break points, something he’s said Pera expects him to provide the Owls in the future.

Olivari is a more of a combo guard and a shooter than a true point guard. Ball handling is one of his focal points that he plans to improve during his senior year. He’s hoping a better handle on the ball will improve his versatility at the college level. Regardless, the guy can flat out shoot.

 

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Southern Miss Press Conference Notes (9/18)

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Coach Mike Bloomgren discussed Rice football‘s returns from the bye week and upcoming game against Southern Miss, the Owls’ second road game of the season.

Coach Bloomgren admitted the 1-2 start has featured a mixed bag of highs and lows. “We got to continue to play four quarters of football and finish strong.” He doesn’t blame conditioning, but rather the lack of consistency for the Owls’ last two losses. “If we just do the same things we’re doing in the second and the third quarter in the fourth quarter we might find a way to win,” he suggested, adding “You can’t do the things we did late in that game against a good football team… and expect to win the game.”

With the lumps have come moments of pride. “This team is showing great fight,” praised Bloomgren, “They’re continuing to work. They’re fighting for each other and they’re doing all the things we ask of them.” Little by little the Owls are making that incremental progress, something the bye week was particularly useful for this past week.

A few individuals earned special recognition for their strong starts. Bloomgren talked encouragingly about the progress quarterback Shawn Stankavage was making this year, citing his mental acuity on the field in addition to his accurate arm. Graysen Schantz was nominated for the Campbell Trophy, given to the nation’s top scholar-athlete, an award Bloomgren admittedly holds with great esteem.

Emmanuel Esukpa, who currently ranks in the top 15 in rushing, earned a shout out from his head coach as well. Bloomgren went beyond that, saying “What he’s doing without the ball in protection might be as impressive as what he’s doing with it.” Not faint praise for one of the better backs in Conference USA, and maybe the nation.

On the injury front, the Owls should have a full complement of weapons at their disposal on Saturday. All starters are expected to be available, with Dylan James the only member of the two-deep listed as questionable.

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Bye week comes at right time for Owls

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Rice football took advantage of an early-season bye to focus on fundamentals and discipline, both areas that will pay huge dividends for the Owls this fall.

Sitting at 1-2, the 2018 Rice football season is far from over. With 10 games still to play, the Owls are only just beginning what they hope will be a promising campaign. The bulk of their games will come after their Week 3 bye week.

Sandwiched between road trips to Hawaii and Southern Miss, Rice players and coaches have had a much-needed extra week during the middle of the season’s grind. The coaches have jetted off all over the country, recruiting from Califonia to D.C. Players have stayed home, using the time to focus on their craft.

The leadership of this young team knows the timing of this break couldn’t have been better. “It gives us a chance to see what we did early on and fix that for the rest of the season,” acknowledged safety George Nyakwol, remarking that he the team progress significantly simply by “focusing on technique and going back to the fundamentals.”

Quarterback Shawn Stankavage was equally confident, if not more so. “I think the bye week really helped us get locked in and turn this thing around… we’re close, we’re in these games, we’re just not pulling away at the end.”

In order to make that final play or two to push them over the edge, the team needs to continue to pursue excellence in everything they do. That starts with practice and extends to game day. “When we execute during the week, Saturday’s are easy,” Stankavage said. To get there, the Owls are focusing on the little things, leaving no stone unturned.

The bye week was extra time for a team still learning to continue ironing out the kinks. Neither side of the ball is going to be transformed overnight, but Rice football got a lot better this week — little by little.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 4

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Rice football was off in Week 3. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for the Conference USA football in Week 4?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte vs Old Dominion W, 28-25  @ UMass
FAU OFF  —  @ UCF
FIU vs UMass W, 63-24  @ Miami
LaTech OFF  —  @ LSU
Marshall CANCELED  —  vs NC State
MTSU vs Georgia W, 49-7  OFF
North Texas @ Arkansas W, 44-17  @ Liberty
ODU @ Charlotte L, 28-25  vs Virginia Tech
Rice OFF  —  @ Southern Miss
Southern Miss CANCELED  —  vs Rice
UAB vs Tulane W, 31-24  OFF
UTEP @ Tennessee L, 24-0  OFF
UTSA @ Kansas State L, 41-17  vs Texas State
WKU @ Louisville L, 20-17  @ Ball State

Notable Week 3 results

Rain, rain go away

Two CUSA games were postponed without any rescheduled date courtesy of the impending impact of Hurricane Florence. Marshall’s trip to South Carolina and Southern Miss’ game at App. State did not happen. Add three scheduled bye weeks to that mix and there wasn’t much CUSA football played this weekend.

People are starting to notice North Texas

A blowout win over an SEC team on the road is a good way to get noticed. North Texas earned votes in the AP Poll following their Week 3 win over Arkansas and figured to continue climbing if they can take care of business in their next several games. On paper, the Razorbacks were the toughest opponent this team was supposed to face this season.

UTEP didn’t get blown out

As for other CUSA teams that took on SEC foes in Week 3, UTEP’s defense faired surprisingly well against the Tennessee Volunteers. The offense was completely shut out, but the 24-0 deficit was well within the 33.5 point spread.

Week 4 storylines

Opportunities aplenty for statement wins

Four CUSA teams play ranked opponents in Week 4. FAU visits No. 16 UCF on Friday night, No. 13 Virginia Tech travels to Old Dominion, FIU plays at No. 21 Miami and No. 6 LSU hosts Louisiana Tech. Any wins in those games would raise eyebrows across the nation.

Can Rice bounce back?

The Owls have had their ups and downs this season, but the sentiment at South Main remains largely positive. A win over Southern Miss would bring Rice back to .500 and give their hopes of a bowl berth renewed life. It’s not a “must win” by any means, but it would be a positive indicator that the rebuild is on schedule.

Does Marshall have the best chance to knock off a Power 5 team?

The encore to North Texas’ win over Arkansas could come from CUSA East in Week 4. Marshall takes on 2-0 NC State in a game that projects to be closer than meets the eye. These are two similar programs that don’t run the ball very well and will try to air it out often. The line opened at NCST +4 and has moved up to 6.5.

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Stock up, stock down for Owls’ remaining 2018 opponents

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Conference USA football is off to a strong start. Here’s how Rice football’s future opponents are trending through Week 3 of the 2018 season.

Stock Down – Southern Miss (1-1)

Results (1-1): vs Jackson State (W), vs UL-Monroe (L)

Rice’s next opponent had their Week 3 game against Appalachian State canceled because of Hurricane Florence.  There only two previous games didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the Eagles. Formerly suspended quarterback Kwadre Griggs will be active for this game, but it’s still unclear how much playing time he’ll get. That’s a lot of question marks.

Stock Up – Wake Forest (2-1)

Results: @ Tulane (W), vs Towson (W), vs Boston College (L)

Wake Forest had a long list of departures to replace this fall including a few key pieces in the secondary and their starting quarterback. In place of John Wolford, Sam Hartman has been serviceable, completing 55.3 percent of his passes and averaging 278 yards and two touchdown passes per game. Their only loss of the season came against a potent BC offense and the Demon Deacons took them down to the wire.

Stock Even – UTSA (0-3)

Results: @ Arizona St (L), vs Baylor (L), @ Kansas St (L)

UTSA deserves some credit for daring to do something no other Conference USA squad did this year, play three Power 5 opponents in their first three games. UTSA lost all three games, but the testing they received to start their seasons will pay dividends down the road. A win would have been nice, but there’s no reason for the Roadrunners to be too concerned about their season quite yet.

Stock Up  – UAB (2-1)

Results: vs Savannah St (W), @ Coastal Carolina (L), vs Tulane (W)

UAB captured the hearts of the nation in their recent return to football. Removed from that fresh jolt, the Blazers have been up and down. This was one of the toughest teams to peg entering the year, and they’ve held their own through three games. Spencer Brown is becoming a workhorse on the ground, coming near 300 yards rushing with two scores so far this season.

Stock Up – FIU (1-1)

Results: vs Indiana (L), @ Old Dominion (W), vs UMass (W)

Butch Davis has built some sturdy program over his varied stops, and FIU is becoming one more feather in his cap. The Panthers gave Indiana a run for their money and continue to present opponents with a balanced offensive attack led by quarterback James Morgan and stable of capable running backs. This team is ahead of schedule.

Stock Up – North Texas (3-0)

Results: vs SMU (W), vs Incarnate Word (W), @ Arkansas (W)

The arm of Mason Fine is among the best in Conference USA. He took his gunslinging talents on the road to Arkansas and threw it all over an SEC defense. Arkansas isn’t the cream of the crop in their conference, but they’re still a talented team. Nobody has been able to keep up with the Mean Green so far.

Stock Even – UTEP (0-3)

Results: vs Northern Arizona (L), @ UNLV (L), @ Tennessee (L)

There’s not much more to see here. UTEP was expected to be bad this season and they’re started out the year with losses to NAU, UNLV and Tennessee. The schedule doesn’t get easier with Conference play starting soon, and that could make for another frustrating year for the Miners and their fans.

Stock Up  – Louisiana Tech (2-0)

Results: @ South Alabama (W), vs Southern (W)

It’s hard to start better than undefeated. Louisiana Tech has taken care of business, but the schedule is about to get a lot more challenging. Road trips to LSU and North Texas in the next two weeks make it hard to get too excited, but watching their host of big-play receivers go deep is plenty of fun for the time being.

Stock Up  – LSU (3-0)

Results: vs Miami (W), vs SE Louisiana (W), @ Auburn (W)

There isn’t a team in the entire nation with a better resume right now than the LSU Tigers. After blowing out Miami in Week 1 the Tigers came from behind to take down Auburn in Week 3. An elite defensive unit with enough quarterback play from Joe Burrow has turned this team into an unexpected force in the SEC.

Stock Down – Old Dominion (0-3)

Results: @ Liberty (W), vs FIU (L), @ Charlotte (L)

Liberty is in its first year as an FBS program. Charlotte is projected to finish near the bottom of the CUSA East. The FIU loss isn’t too egregious, but the body of work does not look impressive in the slightest. Old Dominion has some time to turn things around, but the early returns aren’t very promising.

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