The source for Rice sports news

Rice Basketball: 2021 Guard Elijah Lawrence commits to Owls

By

The 2021 Rice Basketball recruiting class picked up its third member, adding local guard Elijah Lawrence from Bellaire High School.

Rice basketball has its third commitment of the 2021 class. 6-foot-1 guard Elijah Lawrence from Bellaire High School, just down the road from the Tudor Fieldhouse. Rice beat out fellow C-USA peer Old Dominion, who offered him earlier in the summer.

Lawrence’s commitment cements a three-player class. Also in the fold are forward Damion McDowell who was the first to commit in May and shooting guard Jaden Geron, who committed in July. Both of the prior commits are California natives. Lawrence represents the lone Texan in the class.

Rice had the distinct advantage of an existing relationship with Lawrence prior to restrictions on in-person visits that went into place earlier this year. He’d already had face time with head coach Scott Pera thanks in part to his close proximity. Fostering that relationship with face to face conversations made the decision easier for Lawrence this summer.

Listen Now: Check out The Roost Podcast

Lawrence describes himself as a “true team captain on the floor” who can “defend at a high level and play offense at a high level.” His flexibility and versatility will be key as he assimilates into the Owls’ attack.

On the court, Rice is getting a fairly well-rounded player. He has a nice release and can get to the basket in a hurry. He’s not the biggest at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds, but he handles himself well and is able to cut through traffic. Overall a nice pickup for the Owls.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Athletics: Extended offseason showcase series

By

Showcasing a variety of Rice Athletics programs who don’t always get the spotlight was a focal point of the 2020 Extended Offseason. Check out key storylines across many Owls’ sports.

When sports were canceled in March the offseason calendar was more than doubled almost overnight. The silver lining in the midst of the heavy situation was additional time to shed some light on a few Rice Athletics programs that hadn’t been given as much of a spotlight on the site before. Over the span of the last few months, we’ve run weekly series on other programs beyond the revenue sports that typically get the most attention (although we wrote about those too). Here’s a summary of those series, all in one place:

Volleyball

Soccer

Swimming

Tennis

Baseball

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball: How long can Rice keep Tina Langley?

By

Tina Langley has been the catalyst for growth Rice Women’s Basketball needed. How long will she be on the sidelines of Tuder Fieldhouse?

Rice women’s basketball has experienced an unprecedented run of success in the past several seasons. Tina Langley is responsible for much of that success.  The former Maryland assistant has become a titan in Houston, recruiting elite talent and taking Rice back to the NCAA Tournament.

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard wisely gave her a five-year contract extension following the NCAA Tourney berth. From the Owls’ perspective, Langley can stay as long as she’d like.

The Rice men’s team is more recently familiar with losing a head coach to another job. Mike Rhoades parlayed a CBI Quarterfinal appearance and a  23-12 record to take the VCU job in 2017. The women hope to avoid a similar fate.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

Prior to Rice, Langley had spent much of her coaching career on the Eastern side of the county. She served as an assistant at Toledo, Clemson and Georgia before heading to Maryland. Her five-year run in Texas is the furthest Southwest she’s coached.

Her previous geography and her success at Rice have elevated her status in the coaching community. That recognition could have its ramifications. This past week, now former Duke Women’s Basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie resigned. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Langley was among the names floated around as a potential replacement by multiple sources.

Langley doesn’t seem to be the type of coach who would jump at just any job. She spent five years at Toledo and seven at Maryland. People matter to her, but so does education.

If just any other Power 5 program came calling, Langley’s adoration of the Rice administration, academics and culture she’s helped build would help the Owls withstand their advances. But Duke, like few others, can rival the academic power Rice wields. That’s not to say Langley would be out the door if or when the Blue Devils come calling, but she might be willing to listen. She’s earned that right. Rice Athletics had no official comment.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball: 2021 Guard Jaden Geron commits to Owls

By

The 2021 Rice Basketball recruiting class has doubled in size. Guard Jarden Geron became the second player to commit to the Owls in this cycle.

Rice basketball has its second commitment of the 2021 class. 6-foot-7 shooting guard Jaden Geron from San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno, California has committed to Rice. He led San Joaquin to a 24-7 regular season record this past season.

Geron is the second commitment in the 2021 Rice Basketball Recruiting class. His addition comes roughly a month after fellow Californian forward Damion McDowell became the first commitment of the class.

The Owls were the first to get in on Geron, offering him in mid-April amid the now-normal virtual recruiting environment. UC San Diego followed a month later, but Rice had already made enough headway at that point to put themselves out in front.

After bringing in such a large 2020 class amidst the transfer churn, it’s likely the Owls have a smaller group for 2021. McDowell and Hargon will be the cornerstones of this group which probably has space left for just one more addition.

On the court, Geron is a finisher with an adept shooting stroke who can score from all three levels. His ability to push the pace and make plays at the rim should give Rice a versatile offensive threat with the ball in his hands.

As good as he is in close, he also has the range to pull up and knock down a three. At 175-pounds, he tends toward the lankier side, but should have a decent floor as a shooter as he develops at the next level.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls’ stocked with young talent

By

Rice women’s basketball has a core of young players ready to make another run at a Conference USA title. The Owls’ five freshmen are the foundation for the Owls’ future.

It’s going to be surreal watching Rice Women’s Basketball take the court in the fall without Erica Ogwumike. The Owls’ leader on and off the court saw her college career come to a premature end before becoming a WNBA draft selection this spring. Rice will be tasked with fielding a starting five without her in the lineup.

As impossible as Ogwumike will be to replace, it won’t be an unprecedented task. She missed two conference games this past spring with injuries. Rice won both games, defeating Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss at home, each by double digits. Haylee Swayze got the start in the first game in place of Ogwumike. Destiny Jackson started the second.

If the average fan lost track of who was subbing in and out from the bench in the middle of conference play, head coach Tina Langley was well aware.

Jackson was one of five freshmen on the Rice roster. She and Lauren Schwartz were the only two to start at least one game. Schwartz was one of three players to start every game, averaging 9.6 points per game, third best on the team. All five — including India Bellamy, Ashlee Austin and Katelyn Crosthwait — played in more than half of the Owls’ games. Simply put, the Rice freshman made their mark.

The Roost Podcast: Listen now to our Extended Offseason Interview Series

Bellamy led the team with a 45.5 percent success rate from three (5 of 11) and made all five of her free throws she attempted. Austin averaged one rebound every 4.5 minutes on the court, second only to Ogwumike. Crosthwait came up huge with a career-best 11 points in the regular-season finale, helping Rice clinch the conference title with a win over Old Dominion.

“I think where I’m proud of them is that all five of them contributed significantly,” Langley said, “It’s amazing to have such incredible young people coming into our program.”

Building that depth and giving them experience en route to back-to-back conference championships was, in many ways, the perfect scenario. Langley can trust each of them to step into bigger roles next season without missing a beat. And that’s what makes the outlook of this team so bright despite the loss of Ogwumike. Rice women’s basketball has so many players ready and able to contribute now.

“If you looked at our starting lineup from last season, we looked a little strange positionally at times,” Langley admitted,
“But we put a great group out there that could do a lot of different things well.” That’s the recipe for another run at a conference title in the fall. And as young as the Owls’ are, they might not be slowing down any time soon.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts