The Owls of
Rice earned their second
straight trip to the post-season last year with a first round
loss to Southwest Missouri State in the NIT. This year it will
be difficult to earn a berth to the post-season for the third
straight campaign with the three leading scorers departing. A
massive exodus from the backcourt leaves Lorenzo Williams as the
sole experienced guard on the squad. The newcomers have to
adjust quickly or that will cause all sorts of problems.
Who’s Out:
Starters Michael Harris, Brock Gillespie and Jason McKrieth have
all graduated. Harris averaged a double-double with 20.6 points
and 11.7 rebounds and his absence will change everything in
Houston. The backcourt duo of Gillespie and McKrieth combined to
average 23.5 points and 5.2 assists per contest. Also leaving
from the backcourt are Walt Chancellor and Jason Okrzesik.
Chancellor started eight of the 15 games he saw action in,
averaging 0.8 points and 1.3 assists. Okrzesik could have seen
some more minutes this year by default had he decided not to
transfer. He saw action in 26 games, averaging 0.8 points per
contest.
Who’s In:
The backcourt has to receive some impact players from the
newcomers, but nobody is really ready to make an immediate
impact. Wingman Charles Belton averaged 15 points, eight
rebounds and four assists as a senior at Sandy Creek High School
in Georgia. Shooting guard Cory Pflieger is the all time leading
scorer in school history at Dickson County High School, but will
need some time to adjust to the college level. Chris Szalay
could see some minutes off the bench as a three point
specialist. Point guard Rodney Foster, who redshirted last year,
could make the biggest impact of all the newcomers. He’s a smart
player, a solid shooter from everywhere on the floor and is
expected to be the future point guard for the Owls. Forward
Aleks Perka is still raw, but has tons of potential. Before too
long the Poland native could be playing a big role for Rice.
Center Matt Hagen redshirted last year and is ready to
contribute this season. The 6-10, 240 pound Pekin, Illinois
product is a strong presence in the lane and has a nice shooting
touch.
Who to Watch:
Point guard Lorenzo Williams needs to keep
the composure on the court when things look bad for the Owls. If
the junior can’t smooth things over, things could go down hill
really fast for Rice. Williams is a quality point guard who can
control the flow of the game and do a bit of scoring too. As a
sophomore last year, the 6-1 Killeen, Texas native averaged 6.0
points and 4.2 assists and spent part of the season on the
sidelines with an injury. He’ll have to stay healthy all year
and see tons of minutes until some of the newcomers get
comfortable.
Projected Conference Rank:
J.R. Harrison and Morris Almond are scoring
threats and Jamaal Moore and Patrick Britton have starting
experience, so this squad can do some damage. A 5th
place finish in Conference USA is a solid debut for the Owls.
The starting five is talented, but not the personnel needed.
Four forwards make it tough, but they are all athletic enough to
pull it off if Willis Wilson wanted to put his most talented
five on the floor. A newcomer should be cracking the starting
lineup in the guard spot sooner or later.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
none
Projected Starting Five:
Lorenzo Williams, Junior, Guard, 6.0 points per game
Jamaal Moore, Senior, Forward, 4.6 points per game
J.R. Harrison, Senior, Forward, 9.1 points per game
Morris Almond, Junior, Forward, 7.2 points per game
Patrick Britton, Sophomore, Center, 1.9 points per game
