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Rice Basketball: 2021 Forward Damion McDowell commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Basketball recruiting class has its first commitment. Forward Damion McDowell has made his pledge to the Owls.

After a tumultuous spring, Rice basketball was in need of good news on the recruiting front. An offseason full of transfers, both to and from South Main, had left the Owls with a rebuilt roster. With the 2020 class signing and secured — Furman transfer Tre Clark was the most recent, and hopefully final addition —  the Owls were able to turn their focus toward 2021.

Rice basketball now has its first commitment from that next wave. 6-foot-6 forward Damion McDowell from St. Bernard Catholic School in Los Angeles, CA. McDowell chose Rice over offers from UC San Diego and Montana State.

McDowell called the decision two-pronged, “Rice is a win-win as it has a competitive academic and basketball program,” he said. Going out of state was a big step for him, but staying within a relatively short flight from southern California provided some relief. He says he feels like he fits well with the Owls’ style of play and felt valued.

More: 2020 Rice Basketball Transfer Tracker

The addition of McDowell secures one of a limited number of spots in the 2021 Rice Basketball recruiting class. Before any potential transfers are accounted for, the Owls will probably be limited to two more slots. The staff has handed out a few offers over the past few weeks, but McDowell was the first to act. The virtual nature of recruiting during the COVID-19 restrictions doesn’t seem to have slowed things down much at all.

McDowell tips the scales somewhere around 200 pounds. His strong frame will be an asset to the Owls. Check out this highlight video below to see more of what McDowell will bring to the table when he gets to South Main.

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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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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 Basketball: Owls adapting to the world of the Transfer Portal

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Rice basketball has been gutted by the Transfer Portal this offseason. For better or worse, the Owls are adapting to a new normal in college basketball.

No sooner had the final installment of an offseason series on Rice basketball been published than did everything change for head coach Scott Pera and the Owls. Josh Parrish entered the Transfer Portal. Then Trey Murphy III followed. Then Drew Peterson tacked his name onto the list. In the span of a week a promising upcoming season was plunged into uncertainty.

“I’m not sure all of this stuff is good for the game,” Pera said a few weeks later after he’d found the replacement for those transfers and the outgoing senior class. He acknowledged that he wishes the best for those leaving Houston, but wishes there were another way. In his eyes, the grass isn’t always greener.

And it’s not going to get easier. The NCAA is discussing doing away with the rule that mandates a one-year penalty for all transferring players. Under the proposed guidelines, all athletes would be granted immediate eligibility across all sports. Could this tip the balance of power even further away from smaller schools like Rice? Pera thinks so.

If the rule passes, Pera thinks schools like Rice “become like the minor leagues”, grooming talent for the elite programs.

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

After dealing with as much adversity as he has, it’s easy to see how Pera came to hold that position. Many believe his words of caution, fearing things could get even worse on the transfer front. But as of this writing, it’s already a bleak picture for Rice and its fellow Conference USA peers.

As of May 1, at least 11 C-USA schools had lost at least one player this offseason. Eight had lost at least two. Rice was among at least three schools that have lost three or more. The exodus isn’t on its way. It’s here.

Reluctantly, Pera has made plans for the worse. “As much as I didn’t want those guys to leave, you can’t be on your heels in this process anymore in college basketball,” he said. “It is the world we live in.”

Rice responded by signing a seven-person class this spring. The new additions ranged from incoming high school players to experienced, junior college and grad transfer players. The Owls had a variety of holes to fill, so they cast a wide net. As much as they might not want it to be true, today’s transfer epidemic has, in many ways, become the new normal.

“We’ve kind of gotten used to this,” Pera said. It’s grim, but it’s reality. Rather than dwell on the negative, Pera and Rice basketball vow to keep moving forward with a new roster but the same purpose.

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Rice Basketball: Relationships and diversity unify Owls’ 2020 signing class

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In the midst of a challenging recruiting environment, Rice basketball has finalized a seven-member signing class for the upcoming 2020-2021 season.

Those attending a Rice basketball game next season might have to familiarize themselves with the roster. Eight of the 15 players who saw action in at least one game for the Owls’ last season have departed the program. Five exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Three transferred.

The large exodus necessitated a large influx of talent. 6-foot-10 Texas Tech transfer Malik Ondigo, who sat out last season due to transfer rules, will give the Owls a more physical presence inside. Joining him are seven new additions, each pulled together through a variety of connections.

“It all comes back to one thing, relationships,” head coach Scott Pera said when asked how he’d constructed this signing class. “I’ve been fortunate enough to work a lot of places around the country. From LA to Phoenix to Philly to Houston, I’ve got a lot of major cities covered.”

Graduate transfer Cavit Ege Havsa brings a much-needed veteran presence. He was discovered through an assistant with connections to Turkish international players. He’s 6-foot-4 with good hands and will fill in at the four behind the departed Drew Peterson.

Alongside him, third-year player Riley Abercrombie was recruited by Pera out of highschool. He’s a 6-foot-9 transfer from Boise State who was a standout at Clear Lake before moving onto the college ranks.

Guard Jake Lieppert came out of the blue. “I got a random text from basically a friend of a friend in Phoenix,” Pera said. A few months later, Lieppert checked all of the boxes and has made the jump from JUCO to Rice.

Rice was on guard Noah Hutchins for some time. Likewise, they initiated contact with VMI transfer Travis Evee soon after his name hit the Transfer Portal. Guard Cameron Sheffield, the first commitment in the class, and fellow high school addition Mylyjael Poteat round out a balanced group. All with different talents, but the same core identity. They fit at Rice.

On the court, this group will allow Pera to add more size. It wasn’t uncommon for Pera to trust a “small ball” lineup last year, trotting out five guards with Josh Parrish or Robert Martin at the five. Ondigo, Abercrombie and the 6-foot-9 Poteat will help ease the Owls’ size deficiencies.

Having the bodies and getting them to work in concert are different challenges, but getting the pieces in place is the first step.”We still —  I feel — have enough experience to help us out as we move along here,” Pera said confidently. Havsa is in his fifth year. Ondigo is entering his court and Abercrombie his third. Chris Mullins and Payton Moore have played meaningful minutes already at Rice. Things will be different, but the cupboard isn’t empty, not anymore.

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