Jeremy Jones has 12 points and 7 rebounds in the first half for #3 ranked Gonzaga against Illinois. Been actually getting some decent minutes this season. Averaging 3.7 points, 3.0 rpg, 2.0 apg in 11.7 minutes thanks to an injury to one Gonzaga's big men.*

In other former player news:

-Connor Cashaw is only averaging 7.7 minutes per game and has really struggled. I guess that's not overly surprising...his game wasn't really suited for high-major
-Marcus Evans dropped 21 points to lead VCU past Temple. He also had 6 TOs, so basically a Marcus Evans game. His handle looks NBA-like at points (had a filthy crossover and step back dagger 3), downright sloppy at others (got punked 3 or 4 times by one of Temple's guards in a short span). Still looks pretty quick despite two ACL tears in a year
-Corey Douglas is still really good and I'll maintain he would've been an all-CUSA player if he had stayed. Doesn't score much but great defender and rebounder
-Chad Lott is averaging 17 points a game + 6.7 rebounds + 3.0 assists for a Howard team that could easily make the tournament

*Jones hit 2 FTs with Gonzaga up 2 to ice the game with 9 seconds left. Finished with 14 and 11.

Nobody here should have ill will toward Jeremy Jones...

He wasn’t offered a scholarship by Rhoades when he decided he’d rather play hoops than football (he hurt his shoulder to the point that he couldn’t play QB anymore). So I’m happy to see him doing well.

I have no use for the other guys and hope they have unproductive (but injury-free) basketball careers.

I have no ill will against any of them. they have the right to live their lives.

(11-20-2018 09:23 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I have no use for the other guys and hope they have unproductive (but injury-free) basketball careers.

I gather you have never changed jobs.

(11-20-2018 11:42 AM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 09:23 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I have no use for the other guys and hope they have unproductive (but injury-free) basketball careers.

I gather you have never changed jobs.

Not even close to being the same thing.

(11-20-2018 11:45 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:42 AM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 09:23 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I have no use for the other guys and hope they have unproductive (but injury-free) basketball careers.

I gather you have never changed jobs.

Not even close to being the same thing.

Exactly.

At least Connor Cashaw graduated.

(11-20-2018 12:45 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:45 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:42 AM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 09:23 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I have no use for the other guys and hope they have unproductive (but injury-free) basketball careers.

I gather you have never changed jobs.

Not even close to being the same thing.

Exactly.

Boo f'ing hoo.

You guys cry about the most inane things.

If a kid doesn't want to stay at a school, great. Move on. No hard feelings, find somewhere you want to be.

(11-20-2018 02:13 PM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 12:45 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:45 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:42 AM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 09:23 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I have no use for the other guys and hope they have unproductive (but injury-free) basketball careers.

I gather you have never changed jobs.

Not even close to being the same thing.

Exactly.

Boo f'ing hoo.

You guys cry about the most inane things.

If a kid doesn't want to stay at a school, great. Move on. No hard feelings, find somewhere you want to be.

I care about Rice basketball not about kids who use it as a JV so they can get an offer from a “better” program. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.

(11-20-2018 02:31 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 02:13 PM)InterestedX Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 12:45 PM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:45 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:42 AM)InterestedX Wrote:  I gather you have never changed jobs.

Not even close to being the same thing.

Exactly.

Boo f'ing hoo.

You guys cry about the most inane things.

If a kid doesn't want to stay at a school, great. Move on. No hard feelings, find somewhere you want to be.

I care about Rice basketball not about kids who use it as a JV so they can get an offer from a “better” program. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.

Bingo.

(11-20-2018 02:54 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 02:31 PM)cr11owl Wrote:  I care about Rice basketball not about kids who use it as a JV so they can get an offer from a “better” program. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.

Bingo.

This is where I am as well. I give money (but not much) to Rice and Rice Athletics every year. A miniscule amount of that money goes towards athletic scholarships. I understand that for some players, it just doesn't work out at Rice. I don't begrudge those guys. And I will continue to cheer anyone who gets a Rice degree and elects to play elsewhere as a grad student. But for the guys who come here merely to self-promote and with no intention to stay at Rice, I'm annoyed by those guys both for taking my little bit of money and for taking a scholarship (and an expensive, valuable one at that!) from another player who actually wants to be a Rice Owl and actually wants a Rice degree.

I guess I am more in the live and let live camp. Kids 17-23 are making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. Sometimes they are the wrong decisions. But i will let them control their own lives.

As for the ones using Rice as a stepping stone, I doubt the coaches are surprised by this. Like any other one and done, they know what they are getting, and choose to buy it anyway.

(11-20-2018 03:57 PM)mrbig Wrote:  This is where I am as well. I give money (but not much) to Rice and Rice Athletics every year. A miniscule amount of that money goes towards athletic scholarships. I understand that for some players, it just doesn't work out at Rice. I don't begrudge those guys. And I will continue to cheer anyone who gets a Rice degree and elects to play elsewhere as a grad student. But for the guys who come here merely to self-promote and with no intention to stay at Rice, I'm annoyed by those guys both for taking my little bit of money and for taking a scholarship (and an expensive, valuable one at that!) from another player who actually wants to be a Rice Owl and actually wants a Rice degree.

To whatever extent any of these scholarship athletes owe Rice anything (which is debatable), I don’t understand why finishing their degree but not their eligibility at Rice fulfills those obligations.

Their scholarships are athletic scholarships. They are chosen for those scholarships by the coaches, primarily based on the expectation that they will help the team. Their Rice degrees will benefit them more than Rice. They take the degree, and the development and exposure provided by Rice, and then spend their best year benefitting our competitors, moving our team back to square one.

I give Kazemi a total pass based on Greenspan’s reported comments. But I don’t see any reason to be more fond of Cashaw than Evans, Douglas, Lott, or even Ennis.

Marcus Evans turned it over 6 more times, hit multiple clutch shots in overtime, and then got screwed over by the refs on a three pointer to end the game. In other words, you can take Marcus Evans out of Rice but you can never take the Rice out of Marcus Evans.

(11-20-2018 10:03 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  Marcus Evans turned it over 6 more times, hit multiple clutch shots in overtime, and then got screwed over by the refs on a three pointer to end the game. In other words, you can take Marcus Evans out of Rice but you can never take the Rice out of Marcus Evans.

He looked totally out of control until clutch time in OT. I'm a St. Johns fan, so I'm glad how it ended, but clearly Marcus was fouled, and should have gone to the line for 3 FTs, which would have given VCU the game.

(11-20-2018 10:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 10:03 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  Marcus Evans turned it over 6 more times, hit multiple clutch shots in overtime, and then got screwed over by the refs on a three pointer to end the game. In other words, you can take Marcus Evans out of Rice but you can never take the Rice out of Marcus Evans.

He looked totally out of control until clutch time in OT. I'm a St. Johns fan, so I'm glad how it ended, but clearly Marcus was fouled, and should have gone to the line for 3 FTs, which would have given VCU the game.

Eerily reminiscent of that Texas Tech game a few years back. Evans missed some FTs down the stretch in that one and got called for that terrible shooting foul with a couple seconds left to lose the game.

(11-20-2018 11:29 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 10:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 10:03 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  Marcus Evans turned it over 6 more times, hit multiple clutch shots in overtime, and then got screwed over by the refs on a three pointer to end the game. In other words, you can take Marcus Evans out of Rice but you can never take the Rice out of Marcus Evans.

He looked totally out of control until clutch time in OT. I'm a St. Johns fan, so I'm glad how it ended, but clearly Marcus was fouled, and should have gone to the line for 3 FTs, which would have given VCU the game.

Eerily reminiscent of that Texas Tech game a few years back. Evans missed some FTs down the stretch in that one and got called for that terrible shooting foul with a couple seconds left to lose the game.

Wasn't it Connor Cashaw who missed those two fateful FTs vs. Tech which would have clinched the game? I'm pretty sure as I was watching from the Cuba beach resort.

(11-20-2018 11:46 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 11:29 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 10:28 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(11-20-2018 10:03 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  Marcus Evans turned it over 6 more times, hit multiple clutch shots in overtime, and then got screwed over by the refs on a three pointer to end the game. In other words, you can take Marcus Evans out of Rice but you can never take the Rice out of Marcus Evans.

He looked totally out of control until clutch time in OT. I'm a St. Johns fan, so I'm glad how it ended, but clearly Marcus was fouled, and should have gone to the line for 3 FTs, which would have given VCU the game.

Eerily reminiscent of that Texas Tech game a few years back. Evans missed some FTs down the stretch in that one and got called for that terrible shooting foul with a couple seconds left to lose the game.

Wasn't it Connor Cashaw who missed those two fateful FTs vs. Tech which would have clinched the game? I'm pretty sure as I was watching from the Cuba beach resort.

Connor missed the clinching ones, but I believe Marcus missed a couple down the stretch too. It was definitely a team effort to lose that one, though (+ the refs).

St. John's beat VCU in OT tonight, 87-86.

An Evans turnover with 33 seconds to go in regulation led to a layup that gave St. John's the lead ... and Marcus missed one of two FTs with 5 ticks left. He scored 7 of VCU's 13 OT points, but missed a 3 at the buzzer.

In 27 minutes, Evans scored 12 points (4-11, 1-6 from 3, 3-7 FTs), 1 assist, no rebounds, 4 fouls, 6 turnovers, 2 steals and one block.