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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 33 – Tamir Jackson, Rice Basketball and the NBA

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With the NBA season on hold, former Rice basketball guard and emerging NBA agent Tamir Jackson joined the show to talk about his journey since Rice.

The Roost Podcast marches on as we continue the Extended Offseason interview series. Former Rice basketball point guard Tamir Jackson was this week’s guest and as usual, we covered a wide array of topics with the former Owls’ star who’s currently in the process to become an NBA agent.

Jackson gave his takes on the state of college basketball, the Transfer Portal and how the transfer world bleeds into the NBA today. His insight as someone who played at Rice and considered transferring was particularly notable given the Owls’ current transfer situation.

Read More: Rice Basketball Transfer Tracker

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to our chat with Tamir Jackson on Episode 33.


Episode 33 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference. Make sure you Tamir Jackson on Twitter and let him know if you enjoyed having him on the pod.
  • Tamir Jackson joins the show — Jackson has been all over the world since leaving South Main. He talked us through this journey hitting on a wide array of basketball topics:
    • How he became interested in becoming an NBA agent
    • The Transfer Portal and its impact on mid-major basketball
    • The Last Dance and why Michael Jordan got mad at him at an event
    • His favorite basketball and non-basketball memories of his Rice career
    • Jackson’s all-time NBA starting five

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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“She’s Good”: Rice soccer has high hopes for senior Haley Kostyshyn

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Rice soccer senior Haley Kostyshyn turned heads in her first full collegiate season. Healthy and ready, her final season could be spectacular.

There was excitement when Ontario-native Haley Kostyshyn arrived in Houston.  A member of the 2015 Rice soccer recruiting class, her journey at South Main began somewhat quietly. Kostyshyn came off the bench in her first two seasons, earning two starts as a reserve before an injury stole her entire junior season.

That’s how Kostyshyn, in her senior year, saw her first extended action as a full-time player. The results were spectacular. Even though she was eighth on the team in minutes played, she led the team in points. Despite ceding time to other players, she tied for the team-lead in goals with Louise Stephens, who played 213 more minutes — nearly two and a half full games.

The stellar season was a pleasant surprise for Rice soccer coach Brian Lee. “I didn’t even know if she would actually play,” he admitted.

Not only did she play, she made the most of her time on and off the pitch. Lee said she worked hard and remained committed to “becoming the best player she can be.” Kostyshyn showcased some of that this fall, setting the stage for a terrific finale in 2020.

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

Kostyshyn is expected to lead the Owls next season. No longer on the mend, she’ll contend for All-Conference honors with a ceiling that Lee describes as “very high”, reaching into the professional ranks. For her, so much has changed in such a short time. It’s been quite a transformation, but all it took was a chance.

Lee wasn’t bashful when it comes to talks of Kostyshyn’s future. “She certainly can do even more,” he said. “She’s good.” If Kostyshyn’s can be that good in her first full season, the future is certainly bright indeed.

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Transfer Portal: How Rice soccer found a recruiting edge

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Rice soccer coach Brian Lee is a believer in the Transfer Portal. Despite others’ conflicting opinions, Lee views it as a tool for the Owls to stockpile talent.

The Transfer Portal is almost a taboo subject in the world of collegiate athletics. Depending on your vantage point, it’s either a brilliant or tortuous invention.

For the most part, coaches are reticent to endorse it. There’s no denying the ease of access to other schools that it provides makes retaining their own student athletes more challenging. But it also opens up doors for coaches to improve their teams. Beauty, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder.

Rice soccer head coach Brian Lee likes what he sees. “I think it’s a very good thing for women’s soccer,” he said, adding a quick caveat that “it’s very different for every sport.”

So why does it work for women’s soccer? Lee’s contention is two-fold. First, the sport is at the forefront of high school recruiting. Players make their commitments as highschool sophomores, three years before they’ll ever step foot on a college field.

A lot can happen in three years. That’s especially for athletes who were 16 at the time of their decision and nearing 20 when college arrives.

Beyond the time component, the academic prestige of Rice University is a differentiator as well.

Lee believes that, in general, players’ priorities and reasons for choosing a college the second time around “are way smarter and for the right reasons.” That why he believes the developmental growth combined with all Rice has to offer makes the Transfer Portal a competitive advantage for the Owls.

Last fall Rice soccer went into the portal to snag Boston College transfer Mijke Roelfsema, who picked Rice over dozens of other scholarship offers. This offseason Rice landed LSU transfer Ashton Smith who also selected Rice over more than 50 competing schools.

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

“It’s certainly a really good tool for Rice soccer, because short-term, we’re going to be very attractive to kids on the portal as we try to improve our talent level,” Lee said, taking the best from both worlds. The Transfer Portal serves as an intermediary as he continues to lay the groundwork for the future, one that he believes will be aided by talented players hoping to find their way to Rice.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Grad transfer guard Tre Clark commits to Owls

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Furman grad transfer Tre Clark has committed to Rice basketball. The veteran guard will bring experience to the Owls’ young roster.

Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera met with the media at the end of April to address a flurry of roster changes the Owls had experienced since the end of their season. At that point, three players had entered the Transfer Portal.

Shortly after, forward Zach Crisler elected to leave the program, opening up another spot on the quickly changing roster. Pera might not have seen it coming, but he didn’t sit still.

Prior to Crisler’s departure, Pera was honest about the Owls’ current situation. “We lose one senior this year, and I hope that’s the only kid we lose. But I’m also not going to be naive to think that somebody else won’t leave in the spring. So if they do, we’ll be ready.”

Pera quickly reloaded, trading the developing freshmen into a grad transfer. Not long after the spot on the roster opened, Furman guard Tre Clark committed to Rice Basketball.

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

Clark played in 86 games over four years while at Furman. He saw his usage tick upward during his final two seasons with the Paladins, averaging 16.2 minutes per game off the bench. As a senior, he set career-high marks in rebounds (101), assists (38) and steals (32). He’ll give a veteran voice on a young team.

Like everything else these days, Clark’s recruitment was done virtually. Despite the challenges, Clark felt like he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play at Rice. “It checks every box a student athlete like myself is looking for,” he said, continuing to say he believed Pera’s squad was on the verge of a breakout season that he wanted to be a part of.

Clark is going to bring energy off the bench on both sides of the court. He also knows how to win. The Paladins won 50 games in the past two seasons, a feat Rice has yet to achieve in program history. If he can bring just a little bit of that winning edge to the Owls the move to Houston will have paid off handsomely.

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Rice Soccer: Outgoing seniors leave big roles to fill

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The outgoing senior class steered Rice soccer through a year of transition, setting the Owls up for a future of sustained success under Brian Lee.

The Rice soccer senior class did so much more for the program than fill out the roster. Those women served as the clue for a group of players in the midst of a coaching transition. No matter how talented a team in any sport, change at the top can be challenging to navigate. The Owls didn’t seem to miss a beat. Head coach Brian Lee credits the seniors for making that possible.

“Lianne [Mananquil], Erin [Mikeska], Maya [Hoyer] and Louise [Stephens] are four of the strongest leaders I’ve ever coached in 25 years of doing this,” Lee said, acknowledging how challenging they will be to replace next season.

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

Mananquil, Stephens and Mikeska each finished in the top four in points for the Owls this season. Hoyer was part of an effective tagteam with Bella Killgore at goal keeper. Using two keepers might not be Lee’s default going forward, but he couldn’t remove Hoyer or Killgore from the field entirely. “I felt like we had two goal keepers who would have started for at least 10 or 12 of the 14 SEC teams,” he declared.

Fortunately, the Owls will have Killgore to lean on at keeper next season. Up front, the next senior class will be waiting to take up the mantle. Haley Kostyshyn and Mijke Roelfsema are both coming off tremendous seasons. Lee also highlighted the growth of Trinity King who’s role grew as the 2019 season progressed.

Those are strong pieces. Lee hopes they can rise to the occasion. In his eyes, the outgoing senior class “made our transition for our entire staff so much easier…  They were a dream. If every class at Rice is like those kids I’m going to have a great rest of my coaching career.”

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