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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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Rice Basketball Recruiting: 2020 Center Mylyjael Poteat commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice Basketball recruiting class got bigger and better with their second commitment of the class, adding center Mylyjael Poteat from North Carolina.

With the 2019-2020 Rice basketball season drawing near, the Owls are working to make their team better on multiple fronts. Those on campus started practice last week, prepping for the upcoming campaign. At the same time, the 2020 Rice basketball recruiting class is growing.

After adding 6-foot-4 forward Cameron Sheffield in the spring, Rice picked up their second commitment in their 2020 class on Monday. 6-foot-9 center Mylyjael Poteat from the Burlington School in North Carolina has made his pledge to the Owls. His commitment makes Rice the only C-USA school with multiple players commitment to their 2020 class.

In addition to Rice, Poteat had offers from American, Boston University, Dartmouth, Brown, Lehigh and Radford. He had also received interest from Penn and Wofford.

On the court, there’s a lot to like about Poteat’s game. For a guy of his size, he moves well. He’s trimmed about 25 pounds since August, checking in closer to 250 pounds. The slimmer Poteat has good hands and great footwork in the paint. He’s going to be a tremendous defender with some good touch on the offensive side of his game.

More: View the complete 2019-2020 Rice basketball schedule

Poteat is athletic, giving him a great base to build on as he continues to develop. His potential by the time he gets to Rice will only climb higher as he continues to work. If you’re Rice, you want to get talented players with upside. Poteat checks both boxes.

Poteat said he “fell in love with the entire staff and team” and was “impressed with what goes on behind the scenes in terms of player development.” When asked how he knew Rice was the place he wanted to be, Poteat was emphatic. “[Rice is] a great university where I really see myself flourishing.”

A 2020 Rice basketball preview is in the works. We’ll have it up on the site in the coming weeks before the Owls tip off their season in a home exhibition against St. Edwards on Halloween night at 7:00 p.m.

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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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2019 Forward Ben Moffat commits to Owls

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Head Coach Scott Pera and Rice basketball have picked up a commitment from 2019 forward Ben Moffat, a priority walk-on from Wichita Falls, Tx.

The football season is quickly approaching but that hasn’t given Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera any time to rest. The Owls have only recently returned from a tour of Spain in which they won three exhibition games, including a victory over NBA star Ricky Rubio. It didn’t take Pera long after coming back to the states to start adding to his 2019 recruiting class.

Ben Moffatt, a 6-foot-8 forward from Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Tx announced his decision in favor of the Owls on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

https://twitter.com/ben__moffat/status/1032036393692934148

Moffat asserted the decision to commit to Rice was “an easy choice” to make. He pointed at the stellar academic reputation combined with a supportive community. “The coaches stress the importance of being involved with the Rice fans and the campus community,” Moffat said. He’s ready to join that community and willing to work hard for his spot on the court.

Rather than playing under an athletic scholarship, Moffat will be a priority walk-on for the Owls next season. That’s a challenge he’s ready to face. “Every player has to work hard,” Moffat explained, “but as a  walk-on, I’ll need to work harder than anybody else. I need to be the first one at practice and the last one to leave, and that’s something I’m prepared to do.

Last season Moffat averaged 8.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. He has his eyes set on improving each of those numbers his senior year before joining the Owls in 2019. Hopefully alongside a recruiting class that has several spots still to be filled before the class is complete.

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