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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Owls sign 2020 guard Noah Hutchins

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It’s been a challenging time to recruit, but Rice basketball hasn’t slowed down. The Owls signed guard Noah Hutchins during the national slowdown.

Rice basketball went all over the country to find the players right for life at South Main. During the winter they signed Mylyjael Poteat from North Carolina and Cameron Sheffield from Georgia. One of their next additions came from New York by way of IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL.

Known for it’s dominance on the football field, IMG fields a potent basketball squad as well. Guard Noah Hutchins led the way for their postgraduate group last season. As he’d hoped, his first out of state jump allowed him to showcase his abilities. After receiving some buzz in high school, Hutchins wanted another shot to show the nation what he was capable of doing.

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He caught the Owls’ eyes, making good on the bet he’d place on himself. Now he has a scholarship to play D1 Basketball at an elite academic institution. That leap is not lost of Hutchins, who is eager to get onto the court soon. The chance to make an instant impact, combined with the atmosphere of the program, the surroundings in Houston and the academics were enough to sway his decision.

His visit during winter break and subsequent conversations helped foster a relationship with the staff that was essential to that choice. Hutchins felt like family, saying it was evident Rice “cared about me as a person and not just a basketball player on their team.”

When he does get on the court, he aims to win. Hutchins won a state championship in high school and left as the Western New York High School Player of the Year before heading to IMG. He’s used to winning. “It’s all going to be different from here on out, in a good way,” he said. Rice fans would welcome a few more wins in 2020 and beyond.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Owls sign guard Jake Lieppert from JUCO ranks

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JUCO guard Jake Lieppert has committed to Rice Basketball. The sharpshooting guard will give the Owls a scoring threat from deep next season.

Rice basketball has restocked the cupboard on the fly this spring. After losing several key pieces to graduation and the Transfer Portal, the Owls signed a host of important additions. Jake Lieppert, a guard from Pima Community College in Arizona, was one of five players announced by the program in recent weeks.

The Owls’ new addition dominated his peers at the junior college level. He capped off his first collegiate season as the ACCAC Freshman of the Year.

Lieppert averaged 23.7 points per game and led the nation with 125 made three pointers. Had he done it at Rice, his 41.7 percent three-point field goal percentage would have been the best on the team, edging Quincy Olivari’s 38.0 mark from distance. Bottom line: Lieppert can shoot.

At his best, Lieppert is a scorer with incredible range. None of the Owls’ returning players took more than 100 threes last season. Of those who took more than 60, roughly two attempts per game only Olivari shot better than 27.0 percent.

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

The obvious role in combination with all that Rice has to offer helped ease Lieppert ‘s decision. Restrictions put in place alongside the coronavirus outbreak prevented him from taking any kind of visit to South Main during his recruitment process. Instead, he built and grew a relationship with head coach Scott Pera and the staff virtually.

Despite the unusual circumstances, Lieppert said Rice offered two important things: “high-level basketball and academics”. In person meetings or not, that wasn’t something he was going to pass up.

Lieppert will be eligible to play immediately. As long as he can bring his sharpshooting ability from Arizona to Texas, he should be a key component in the Owls’ rotation next season and beyond.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Guard Cavit Ege Havsa commits to Owls

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Turkish guard Cavit Ege Havsa has committed to Rice basketball. The grad transfer will have one year of eligibility remaining at South Main.

Rice basketball was active on the transfer market this spring. When outgoing transfers threatened the depth of the program across the board, the Owls did not waste any time. They added players from the prep, junior college and grad transfer ranks, that included international guard Cavit Ege Havsa.

Havsa was one of the most well-traveled graduate transfers before he committed to Rice basketball. The Turkish native played internationally on the U20 Turkish National team and in several European tournaments prior to that. The grassroots program he grew up playing for, Anadolu Efes, also developed former NBA star Hedo Trukoglu. After spending most of his time connected to Turkish basketball, Havsa moved to the States.

Havsa spent his first two collegiate seasons at Fordham, where he appeared in 49 games, mostly as a reserve. He averaged 4.0 points, 3.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game, shooting 45.1 percent from the field.

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From there he transferred to Utah Valley State, sitting out the 2018-2019 season and making his debut last year. Havsa was a key bench player for the Wolverines, averaging 16 minutes per game. He was third on the team in assists and second in three point field goal percentage, shooting .375 from distance.

At 6-foot-4, Havsa has some size, but he hasn’t been a big rebounder in either of his previous stops. His impact will come from his precision passing and ability to make threes. The Owls will need both skillsets to replace most of their primary ballhandlers from last season’s team.

Havsa will have one season of eligibility at Rice, his third and final stop of his collegiate career. Both head coach Scott Pera and he hope it’s an impactful victory lap for the well-traveled senior.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Owls add transfer Travis Evee from VMI

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Rice basketball hit the Transfer Portal hard this spring, adding former VMI point guard Travis Evee to their roster. He’ll sit one season prior to being eligible for the Owls.

Attrition struck the Rice basketball roster hard this offseason, leaving several holes that need to be filled. Fortunately for the Owls, reinforcements are on the way. Although he won’t suit up for Rice until the 2021-2022 season, incoming transfer Travis Evee has high hopes for his time at South Main.

A transfer from VMI, Evee committed to the Owls in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown. He has yet to step foot on campus or meet the coaching staff in person, obstacles he wouldn’t let stand in the way of finding his way to what he called “the best place for me.”

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The external environment for his decision was far from ideal, but he says he feels confident he made the right choice. Ultimately it came down to relationships. Head coach Scott Pera provided a level of comfort that made Evee confident he was ready to head to Texas.

“I felt Rice was a great place where I can be challenged academically and athletically,” Evee said.

Evee was the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year this past season, leading VMI with 12.6 points per game. He shot 36.2 percent from three, building upon a strong track record of success from deep. Evee set a single-season record in high school with 104 made three-pointers. Shooting is his strong suit, making him a perfect fit for what Pera wants to build at Rice.

On the court, Evee prides himself as being a “team first” player who promises to bring a winning attitude to South Main. Rice basketball will need a facilitator in the future with the graduation of Ako Adams. As soon as he’s able, Evee is ready to step in and fill that role at Rice.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Owls add transfer Riley Abercrombie from Boise St

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Former Boise State forward Riley Abercrombie will transfer to Rice basketball. He’s expected to be eligible to play this coming season.

Rice basketball had to retool after graduation and transfers thinned out its roster. Head coach Scott Pera hit the transfer portal, looking for the right players to fortify the depleted roster. Five new Owls have been added in the past few weeks. One of those new additions is returning back to Houston after two brief years away from home.

Boise State transfer Riley Abercrombie will transfer to Rice. Although no official announcement has been made at this time, he’s expected to be eligible for the 2020-2021 season. Abercrombie is an Australian native who played his high school basketball at Clear Lake in Houston. The 6-foot-9 forward spent the last two years at Boise.

Abercrombie redshirted his first season before seeing his first collegiate action last season. He played in 18 games,  last season, seeing extended action twice. He scored six points in 12 minutes against Alabama State and four points in 17 minutes against Utah State. For his career, Abercrombie tallied 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists.

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Even though several of his peers were not afforded the same opportunity, Abercrombie had the chance to visit campus and had previously met the coaches in person. That played a crucial role in his decision making process, one which he’s confident has led him to the right place.

Abercrombie cited a combination of driving forces in his decision to come to South Main including the Owls’ “great style of play” as well as “opportunity at [his] position.” The staff and the proximity to home were important as well. The academics rounded out the full picture. When it came time to make his decision, he called it “a no brainer in the end.”

He’ll add some size on the outside as well as another shooting presence from the wing. Abercrombie prides himself on his deep ball and expects to drop some threes when he gets on the court in Houston.

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