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Owls take stock of season entering conference play

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Rice basketball is in the midst of a rebuilding effort led by a host of young players hoping to bring success back to South Main. It’s going to take some work.

The 2018-2019 season has been filled with plenty of learning opportunities for Rice basketball. The Owls won their first three games at Tudor Fieldhouse but struggled to find their rhythm throughout the next month, sliding to a 5-8 record entering the Christmas holidays.

Five wins put the Owls in the bottom half of the conference with their first Conference USA game looming on Dec. 29 against North Texas. The Mean Green sit at 12-1. They’ll be a tough test for Rice, but the road to get there hasn’t been much easier.

Penn, Houston and Wichita State all made the NCAA Tournament last season and BYU and UCSB have both put together winning seasons so far. Rice played all five of them. “If you go down the list, that schedule has been pretty challenging,” head coach Scott Pera said following their loss to Omaha, “There’s a lot of good teams on there that we’ve had to play. Hopefully that will help us in conference [play]. That’s part of the plan.”

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The plan, as Pera refers to it, is in its developmental stages. Outside of Jack Williams, Ako Adams and Robert Martin the Owls key pieces on the floor are almost entirely freshman. Rice is led by starting guard Chris Mullins in scoring (13.1 points per game).

Fellow freshman Drew Peterson and Quentin Millora-Brown have earned starting spots with freshmen Josh Parrish and Trey Murphy III playing meaningful minutes off the bench. The youth permeating the roster is a challenge for Pera and his staff, one he hopes will pay dividends down the road. “It’s a bit like a rollercoaster,” Pera admitted, “I feel our guys are connected. I feel we have shown a lot of growth.”

The team is in the early stages of that developmental process. It’s going to take some time. Pera knows that, and he knows now is the time to press in rather than throw in the towel. “You gotta believe in your guys. You know that they’re capable… What can you do? Get back in the gym and keep working,” Pera proclaimed adamantly.

The rebuild won’t happen overnight. Rice is working and they’ll continue to be tested from this point onward. There are going to be more licks with high points mixed in. It’s going to be every bit as much the rollercoaster Pera described. The Owls will have to do their best to make sure they don’t get stuck in a loop.

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Rice WBB: Owls off to another hot start

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Rice women’s basketball is red-hot. The Owls are winners of six in a row at the midpoint of their 2018 non-conference schedule.

The 2018-2019 season has been more of the same so far for the Rice Owl’s women’s basketball squad, in many ways picking up right where they left off from a 23-10 campaign a season ago. This team was picked to finish second in CUSA in the preseason with five first place votes. Everything they’ve done to this point confirms those expectations are well within reach.

Leading the way on offense once again is Erica Ogwumike. The junior guard is averaging 19.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Rice has been buoyed by continual strong showings from Ogwumike backed by consistent production from players like Nicole Iademarco (7.4 pts, 5.0 reb, 1.9 asst) and Lauren Grigsby (9.9 pts, 2.5 reb, 56.5 percent from three)

It’s been a combined team effort, once again, leaving plenty of reasons to be hopeful about what’s to come for this team in the near future. 

After a bumpy start which featured losses to Texas A&M and UCLA, a pair of strong Power 5 teams, the Owls have reeled off six straight victories. They now sit at 6-2, with four games remaining between them and the start of conference play.

Rice gets SMU at home on Dec. 15 before traveling to the east coast for the Carolinas Challenge featuring games against North Carolina (Dec. 18) and Coastal Carolina (Dec. 20) in Myrtle Beach, SC. Then they’ll cap off 2018 with a road contest against Incarnate Word on Dec. 29. After New Year’s celebrations, they’ll take to the road once again for the start of Conference USA action against Southern Miss on Jan. 3. 

The Owls should have a strong shot at winning each of those contests. If they win all four, they’ll tie last year’s 10-2 start in nonconference play.

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Owls add size with 2019 center Max Fiedler

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Rice basketball added some size to their 2019 recruiting class with the commitment of 6-foot-10 center Max Fielder from Melbourne, Florida.

One of three commitments in favor of the Owls over the span of less than a week, center Max Fiedler has locked down his recruitment, calling Rice “the right place for me.”

Fielder picked the Owls over a host of programs, including Army, Air Force, Lipscomb, Texas State and Lehigh. The latter was the most recent to offer Fiedler, but unable to fight off the momentum the Owls had picked up since they offered Feidler in early August.

Part of the reason for the Owls’ holding Fiedler’s interest was the relationships he’d developed with the coaching staff and the current players. The culture and the academics of a top-tier institution like Rice was too good for him to pass up. “I know Rice basketball has a bright future,” Fielder said, “I’m excited to be a part of it.”

It might not be long before Fiedler becomes an integral piece for the Owls on the court. Standing at 6-foot-10, he’ll be listed as the tallest person on the Rice team next year. Recent commit Zach Crisler is 6-foot-9, as is freshman Quentin Millora-Brown. Size can’t be taught. An offseason in the weight room to add power to that stature has the potential to pay significant dividends for both Fiedler and the Owls.

Adding a shooting element to his game would be icing on the cake. Feidler said Pera wants him to “be able to stretch the floor and shoot the three,” as well as be a weapon on the glass. If Fiedler can continue to develop on the offensive end, he could turn into an impressive under the radar candidate for Rice in the 2019 signing class. His work on the boards and in the paint speaks for itself.



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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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2019 PF Zach Crisler commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice basketball recruiting class picked up a big commitment, adding power forward Zach Crisler from LaSalle College to the fold.

The football program has been busy adding to their numbers this fall, but Rice basketball is busy on the recruiting trail too. The Owls picked up a commitment from preferred walk-on Ben Moffat in August. Now they have their first scholarship commitment — Zach Crisler has verbally committed to the Owls.

Crisler is 6-foot-9, 205 pounds. The stretch forward will be a weapon on both ends of the floor for the Owls. He averaged more than 10 points per game in his junior season and continues to improve his skills on the offensive glass.

The power forward from LaSalle College in Pennsylvania picked Rice over offers from Penn State, TCU, Columbia, St. Joe’s and others. Landing a player of Crisler’s caliber out of the northeast is one thing, but beating out a pair of Power 5 programs is even more significant. TCU was in the NCAA Tournament last season and Penn State was on the bubble before winning the 2018 NIT.

As things currently stand, Crisler would be one of the higher rated recruits that Scott Pera has ever landed. Bringing him into the fold, plus Moffat and a few additional signees could make for an impressive 2019 class. Crisler alone is a good start, and his commitment has made an impact on where the Owls stand in the 2019 ranks.

Crisler pushes the Owls up to No. 2 in the Conference USA recruiting rankings. UTSA, Rice and Charlotte each have one three-star recruit in the fold with the Roadrunners’ commit rating slightly higher than the Owls’ new addition. It’s early in the race for all of these schools, but Rice is currently playing from the front.



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