Get to Know the 2019-2020 Rice Basketball Roster

The 2019-2020 Rice basketball roster is filled with talented players who are ready to take the court this season. Get to know the team and learn more about their individual skills and accomplishments.

Introduction

Rice University’s basketball team is composed of some of the most talented young athletes in the country. The team works hard on and off the court to perfect their skills and maintain a high level of sportsmanship. Here is a brief introduction to the 2019-2020 Rice Basketball Roster

##Heading: The Guards
##Expansion:
The guards are some of the quickest and most agile players on the court. They use their speed and agility to control the game and make quick decisions. The guards are responsible for scoring points, but they also play a vital role in defense.

– Travis Grinnon is a junior from Katy, Texas. He is one of the team’s primary scorers and is also a great defender.
– Ako Adams is a sophomore from Los Angeles California. He is one of the quickest players on the team and uses his speed to his advantage on both Offense and defense
– Quentin Fields is a freshman from Chicago, Illinois. He is one of the tallest players on the team and uses his size to his advantage on both offense and defense

2019-2020 Roster

The Rice Owls men’s Basketball team represents Rice University in NCAA Division I college basketball The Owls have competed in Conference USA since 2005. They are currently coached by Scott Pera.

Roster

##Name: Ja’Lynn Polk
##Number: 3
##Position: G
##Height: 5’6″
##Year: So.
##Hometown: Bay City TX
##High School Bay City

Head Coach Scott Pera

Scott Pera was announced as the head coach of the Rice men’s Basketball Program on March 22, 2019. Pera comes to Rice after serving as an Assistant Coach at the University Of Pennsylvania for the past four seasons.

Prior to his time at Penn, Pera was an assistant coach at his alma mater, American University, for one season (2013-14). He also spent two seasons (2011-13) as a graduate assistant coach under then-Rice Head Coach Ben Braun.

A native of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Pera played collegiately at American from 2002-06. He was a part of three Patriot League regular season championship teams and helped the Eagles to NCAA tournament appearances in 2004 and 2006.

Assistant Coaches

Dereck Whittenburg – Assistant Coach
Entering his fourth season on the bench with the Owls, Dereck Whittenburg will serve as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 campaign.

Prior to his arrival at Rice, he spent three seasons (2014-17) as an assistant coach at his alma mater, NC State. There, he helped lead the Wolfpack to a 42-20 overall record and one NCAA Tournament appearance. He also served as the Head coach of the NC State men’s basketball team’s Junior Wolfpack program, where he helped develop young talent.

Whittenburg began his coaching career as an assistant at George Mason during the 1999-00 season. He then spent two years (2000-02) as an assistant coach at Bowling Green before spending a year (2002-03) as head coach of St. Francis (Pa.). He then returned to George Mason for two seasons (2003-05) before spending four years (2005-09) as an assistant coach at Wagner.

Schedule

The 2019-20 Rice Owls men’s basketball team will represent Rice University during the 2019-20 NCAA Division I men’s Basketball season The Owls, led by first-year head coach Scott Pera, will play their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as members of Conference USA

Results

Rice won 23 games this season, their most since the 2016-2017 campaign. The Owls also improved their conference record to 12-6, good for fourth place in the standings. Rice closed the regular season with five straight wins, including a victory over eventual conference tournament champion Houston. The Owls then lost to UAB in the Conference USA quarterfinals.

Standings

The Rice Owls men’s Basketball team represents Rice University in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of Conference USA They play their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse, which they have called home since 1950. The Owls are currently coached by Scott Pera.

| Conference USA | Overall |
|:———————————————|:———-|
| W-L | Pct. | Streak | Home | Away | Neutral |
| 12-4 | .750 | W1 | 8-1 | 4-3 | 0-0 |

Rice’s all-time record is 1,asel fas,234–1,123 (.523). The Owls have made one appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament They were invited as a fourteenth seed in the 1986 tournament where they lost in the first round to Kansas, the third seed, by a score of 73–50.

Media Coverage

The 2019-2020 Rice Basketball Roster is not one to miss. This team is looking to turn things around after last year’s disappointing season, and they’re off to a great start. The team has already caught the attention of the media, and here’s what they’re saying about our Rice Owls.

Statistics

The 2019-2020 Rice Basketball Roster features three graduate students, eight juniors, three sophomores, and two freshmen.

The team captains are seniors Ethan Martin and Ako Adams.

The two leading scorers from last season, Connor Financial and Marquez Lettsome, have both graduated.

Leading the way in returning scoring is junior Trey Murphy III, who averaged 13 points per game last season. Also returning are seniors Ako Adams (9.4 ppg) and Egor Koulechov (9.1 ppg).

Sophomore guard Robert Martin is the only player on the roster who averaged double figures in points last season, at 10.5 points per game

Conclusion

The Owl’s have a young and talented roster that will look to make some noise in the coming years. With transfers Spencer Jones and Trey Murphy III, as well as freshman Chris Mullins, the team has some much needed veteran leadership. Coach Bailiff will have his work cut out for him, but if he can get this young team to gel, the sky is the limit for Ice basketball