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Rice Athletics: Extended offseason showcase series

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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

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Rice Basketball: 2021 Guard Jaden Geron commits to Owls

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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.

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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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