Other guys who we've contacted according to social media:

Portland State G Marlon Ruffin. 6-5 junior slasher who averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds on 42/28/73 splits
Murray State F Nicholas McMullen. 6-8 freshman who averaged 3.2 points, 2.9 rebounds

Jason Roche commits to Richmond. Trey Bonham committed to Florida a couple of days ago.

I'm hoping Jalen Gabbidon of Yale is still in the picture. He'd be a perfect fit.

(04-24-2022 12:46 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Jason Roche commits to Richmond. Trey Bonham committed to Florida a couple of days ago.

I'm hoping Jalen Gabbidon of Yale is still in the picture. He'd be a perfect fit.

FYI, here are links to earlier posts by elw4796 about Roche and Bonham ... and one by FBO on Gabbidon.

Couple new names:

> John Stansbury. 6-3 sophomore out of Delaware State. Averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds (45/40/65 splits). Has only played 42 games in three years and plays for quite possibly the worst program in the country (they might've overtaken Chicago St this year).
> Tahj Small. 6-5 senior out of Tarleton State. Averaged 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds (42/30/79 splits).

Not really thrilled with a lot of the names we've been in recent contact with. Small would be a fine addition, I guess, but we're in desperate need for a primary ball handler and Pera seems either reluctant or oblivious. Desperately hope Jones, Mason, Akuchie, and Perkins all turn out to be awesome because the roster's just not in good shape right now.

(04-28-2022 11:18 AM)elw4796 Wrote:  Couple new names:

> John Stansbury. 6-3 sophomore out of Delaware State. Averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds (45/40/65 splits). Has only played 42 games in three years and plays for quite possibly the worst program in the country (they might've overtaken Chicago St this year).
> Tahj Small. 6-5 senior out of Tarleton State. Averaged 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds (42/30/79 splits).

Not really thrilled with a lot of the names we've been in recent contact with. Small would be a fine addition, I guess, but we're in desperate need for a primary ball handler and Pera seems either reluctant or oblivious. Desperately hope Jones, Mason, Akuchie, and Perkins all turn out to be awesome because the roster's just not in good shape right now.

I don't think the roster is in awful shape for 2022-23 - now if you want to talk beyond that, then you might be right. And I'm assuming at this point that Olivari, Evee and Fiedler are returning (for one more year each would be my guess). We just have two more days to sweat out the portal.

Right now, this is how we shape up for 2022-23 (the guys in parentheses are walk-ons)

G - Evee, Olivari, Lieppert (Myers, Peakes)
G/F - Geron, Mason, Jones, Sheffield
F - Lewis, McDowell (Moffatt)
F/C - Fiedler, Akuchie, Perkins

1 'ship left to offer (hopefully to a playmaker as you say). I'd be surprised if we got someone as good as Pierre at this point, but I'd settle for another McBride type.

If that's how 2022-23 ends up looking, that's not a bad group if we stay healthy (which didn't happen in 2021-22). Evee, Olivari, Fiedler are surefire starters, with Lewis I believe (you and I differ on how good we think he will be), and then either a new transfer or possibly Geron or Mason. Maybe Lieppert instead, but that gives you zero scholarship true guards for the bench as of right now.

(04-28-2022 04:47 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  

(04-28-2022 11:18 AM)elw4796 Wrote:  Couple new names:

> John Stansbury. 6-3 sophomore out of Delaware State. Averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds (45/40/65 splits). Has only played 42 games in three years and plays for quite possibly the worst program in the country (they might've overtaken Chicago St this year).
> Tahj Small. 6-5 senior out of Tarleton State. Averaged 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds (42/30/79 splits).

Not really thrilled with a lot of the names we've been in recent contact with. Small would be a fine addition, I guess, but we're in desperate need for a primary ball handler and Pera seems either reluctant or oblivious. Desperately hope Jones, Mason, Akuchie, and Perkins all turn out to be awesome because the roster's just not in good shape right now.

I don't think the roster is in awful shape for 2022-23 - now if you want to talk beyond that, then you might be right. And I'm assuming at this point that Olivari, Evee and Fiedler are returning (for one more year each would be my guess). We just have two more days to sweat out the portal.

Right now, this is how we shape up for 2022-23 (the guys in parentheses are walk-ons)

G - Evee, Olivari, Lieppert (Myers, Peakes)
G/F - Geron, Mason, Jones, Sheffield
F - Lewis, McDowell (Moffatt)
F/C - Fiedler, Akuchie, Perkins

1 'ship left to offer (hopefully to a playmaker as you say). I'd be surprised if we got someone as good as Pierre at this point, but I'd settle for another McBride type.

If that's how 2022-23 ends up looking, that's not a bad group if we stay healthy (which didn't happen in 2021-22). Evee, Olivari, Fiedler are surefire starters, with Lewis I believe (you and I differ on how good we think he will be), and then either a new transfer or possibly Geron or Mason. Maybe Lieppert instead, but that gives you zero scholarship true guards for the bench as of right now.

I just can't get myself to be optimistic, even though I think the incoming class will be surprisingly good. We were the 220th ranked KP team last year. We lost (ranked by on-off splits, min 100 possessions):

> Pierre (#1 offensive player, #2 defensive player)
> Poteat (#10 offensive player, #7 defensive player)
> Mullins (#5 offensive player, #5 defensive player)
> McBride (#9 offensive player, #8 defensive player)

Regardless of how you see defensive metrics (I don't think they're entirely reliable), I think we can all roughly agree that we lost our best offensive player (Pierre), our best guard defender (Mullins), and maybe our best wing defender (Pierre). A team ranked #300 on defense losing two of its better defenders is disastrous, especially because freshmen have a tendency to struggle more on the defensive end than offensive end (and because we know Pera and his staff have shown no ability to develop kids on that end). And it's hard to bet on us being better than 125 on the offensive end, considering how much of the offense ran through both Pierre and Poteat (and that's setting aside that Mullins and McBride were two of the guys who got the ball when we needed somebody to attack and/or late in the shot clock).

The way I see it is that it's going to take a lot for us just to get to the level we were at this year. Freshmen stepping up immediately, Lewis showing the P5 to MM improvement, Geron and McDowell developing, Olivari and Lieppert getting healthy, etc. When you need a lot to go right just to remain at your current level, the safe bet is always on a team getting worse rather than better. And even staying the same (in the 200-250 range) should be unacceptable at this stage.

We are set up to probably be top 25% in returning production, would not surprise me if we ended up top 10% in that stat once the dust settles.

(05-01-2022 06:34 AM)owl at the moon Wrote:  We are set up to probably be top 25% in returning production, would not surprise me if we ended up top 10% in that stat once the dust settles.

Not sure what to make of that stat as competitors are bringing in talent/production via recruiting and transfer portal.

We're not going to be top 10%. We're basically bringing back 50 percent of our scoring from last year (although Olivari's numbers were down - if you expect his numbers to be closer to the 2020-21 totals, it would be higher than 50 pct.).

Still, I'm pleased we only lost one significant non-senior member of our 2021-22 team (and we may have already replaced him with someone who can be a better fit with Fiedler - maybe). In this day and age, that's a win-win when we have 3 starters who a bunch of other schools would covet, and we can hang onto them. It will be even better if we can add one more solid guard.

It appears the final scholarship spot will go to 2022 C Iffy Ufochukwu. 6-11 out of North Carolina who says he picked Rice over SMU and Temple (take that American!). I have a lot of comments. I really like the player. He's still raw (only started playing college basketball like 4-5 years ago) but you can see the potential. He's a legitimately athletic 7-footer who's a really good shot blocker. Everybody on this board knows how much I've wanted Pera to recruit a paint defender and Ufochukwu has all the potential to be a defensive stalwart. While his offensive arsenal is still developing, you can also see that he's a quick learner. Footwork isn't always great, but he dunks everything around the rim and can make some nice post moves. There are still plenty of question marks. As I said, he's raw and relatively inexperienced. He's close to a 7-footer playing against kids much smaller. There's some stiffness in his movement that you might expect from a center who isn't a consensus 4* or 5* (which is much more concerning in the P&R era than it would've been a few years ago). But he was at one point receiving interest from P5 teams, likely as a stash-and-develop big, which means it's clear there is potential.

That's the good news. The bad news? I have no earthly idea what Pera is doing and I have no clue what the team's identity is anymore. The positive? Even with Pera (for whatever ridiculous reason) not changing the coaching staff, it's hard to fathom we'll be worse defensively. Jones and Mason are both supposedly good defenders. Akuchie and Ufochukwu are much more defensive-oriented than past bigs. Lewis and Perkins both have really good length. I guess it's also plausible that Pera thinks both Jones and Mason can immediately step in and contribute, and/or that Geron and McDowell will take big steps forward. But holy cow I'm not sure how Pera hasn't attempted to strengthen the guard room. Unless Jones can immediately start (which is rare for a freshman, let alone one who basically wasn't recruited by any other program), Evee is almost guaranteed to start at the 1. And I'm not sure why anybody would want that, considering he's probably our best shooter when confident, he's not a particularly great attacker, and he's not an extraordinary passer. Even with an improvement defensively, we still stand little shot of breaking down teams like La Tech and UNT. Pera had three opportunities to make us more dynamic offensively, and we ended up with a raw HS shot blocker, a P5 energy forward, and a raw HS wing/forward.

So I guess summarized:

> Yay, a shot blocker! Yay, theoretical defensive improvement!
> Admirable that Pera is still trying to build teams with HS players in the transfer era (admirable =/= smart)
> What on god's earth is our current roster and how in the world are we going to break down good defenses?

Wow, that means more than half the scholarship roster will be 6-6 or above. My unofficial breakdown will be 6-1, 6-3 (2 players), 6-4, 6-5, 6-6 (2), 6-8 (2), 6-9 (2) and 6-11 (2) - although some of those heights are a bit of a stretch (no pun intended). So our average height will roughly be about 6-6 1/2. That might end up being one of the tallest Rice rosters in history.

Let's hope Jones can contribute right away. Lieppert will be another key player off the bench. He was pretty much our first or second option off the bench at the guard spot this past year until he got hurt.

Just landed a 6'4" guard from the transfer portal-- averaged only 8 minutes per game at Nevada his first two seasons. On the Bosnian national team.

https://twitter.com/alemhuseinovic3/stat...9692694528

...and here's his bio from the Nevada web site...

https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/mens-b...novic/7955

Gotta mean somebody is not coming back or somebody isn't making it to campus, right? Because that's 14 scholarship players. Maybe McDowell, based on some of the comments last year?

Either way, confounding addition. Doesn't add a new dimension to the team. Cannot, and I stress that word, believe that Pera had *another* open spot and didn't add a ball-dominant guard. Stark contrast to the women's team, where Edmonds recognized an area of weakness and got somebody with the potential to be a difference maker.

Are we sure Ufochukwu is signing with the Owls? I haven't seen anything on that anywhere else.

(05-13-2022 11:47 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Are we sure Ufochukwu is signing with the Owls? I haven't seen anything on that anywhere else.

Lots of confirmations on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=Iffy...yped_query

Bunch of offers in recent weeks:

> 2024 SG Bryson McGlothin (Texas). We're his first offer. Long and lanky like most Pera wing recruits. Looks more of a slasher than shooter, though. Not an overly fluid athlete. What I'll call a baby giraffe high school wing, in that he looks kind of awkward and there's some wasted movement in some of what he does. Looks to have potential. Shot is fine, good body control finishing at the rim, and can score it from all 3 levels
> 2023 SF Kayden Fish (Missouri). Offers from Davidson, Xavier, Colorado St, and others. Labeled as a SF but likes to bang in the paint. Uses a good frame to score from the post on players bigger and smaller. Made one 3 in EYBL last year, but shot mechanics look fine. Can see him making them more consistently. I'd imagine the worry for him would be on the defensive end. Doesn't look quick enough to guard athletic wings and undersized defending the 5
> 2023 PG Malik Mack (DC). Offers from Bill & Mary, Northeastern, Ole Miss, URI, GW, and others. Can't really tell a lot from what's online. Really good and confident shooter. But his numbers indicate he can pass, and there does look to be some quickness there, so it's possible he could be a lead guard in college. I imagine if he continues to develop, he'll have a bunch more P5 offers
> 2023 PG Dalen Davis (Illinois). Offers from KSU, Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, Kansas, etc. Few of those offers were in 2021, so if he's accepting calls from us, I highly doubt those offers are still outstanding. Really good guard. Solid looking shot, good passer, scores from all levels, and can break down defenses. Would have to beat out a bunch of really good schools

https://riceowls.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

Men's basketball roster now updated for 2022-23. I'm really not sure how but it sure seems to me like we have 14 scholarship players (and 3 walk-ons) on the roster now. I do know 13 scholarships is the limit for men's basketball, but perhaps 1 of the new guys we think is a scholarship player is another PWO? Or maybe there is some new Covid-related rule that allows you to not count scholarship players towards that 13 limit I just mentioned?

Anyway, the breakdown is 7 returning scholarship guys (3 walk-ons) and then 7 new guys. My guess for the depth chart for now would be.

Backcourt - Evee/Olivari (starters) -- Jones, Mason and Lieppert back-ups

Swing Position - Sheffield sometime starter -- Huseinovic, Geron and McDowell back-ups

Frontcourt - Fiedler/Lewis (starters) -- Ufochukwu, Perkins, Akuchie back-ups

There might be some movement where we start more of a 3-guard lineup against smaller, quicker teams. Especially if Jones and Mason prove to be ready to play from day one. Peakes, Moffatt and Myers are the returning walk-ons (and Moffatt and Myers are back for their 4th year, which is impressive for a walk-on).

Safe bet is on Evee starting at the 1, sadly. Olivari at the 2. I'm still bullish on Mason, which probably means he'll play 20 minutes all season with my track record on recruits. Then Lewis and Fiedler at the 4 and 5. My big hope is that Jones is a revelation at the point. My second big hope is that one of Ufochukwu and Akuchie steps in immediately as a defensive stalwart. Would probably mean playing Fiedler at the 4, which I'm unsure of (I don't think Fiedler + Poteat was an effective combination but I can't remember the numbers). But we really need some pleasant surprises for this season to amount to anything.

Not really into MBB but I thought moving to the AAC would greatly enhance our recruiting.

My guess is that the American move will be more impactful for the women than the men. On the women's side, we're much closer to being competitive with top-100 recruits than we are on the men's side. What I've seen is that the education is a much bigger selling point on the women's side, we have past success, we have a well-respected coaching staff, there are only a few women's teams really playing the NIL game, and our fan support issues are lessened because there are fewer WBB teams that do consistently draw great crowds. That makes the better conference more impactful, because it adds to an already stellar recruiting pitch. We don't have any recruiting advantages on the men's side except for the education element. A better conference doesn't magically make our attendance woes go away or allow us to become an NIL player.

In all honesty, the athletic department's main basketball focus should be the women. With the right support and a little luck (e.g., not losing Edmonds immediately if we have a good year), there's no reason to think the women can't be ranked (or close to it) every year.