Ben Braun era begins for men's basketball

By Brody Rollins     11/13/08 6:00pm

For all intents and purposes, Division I basketball is back at Rice University. After playing their home games last season in front of sparse crowds at the Merrell Center and Reliant Arena, the Owls are returning home Saturday to play their first game on campus in over a year and a half. Saturday's game at 3 p.m., featuring the defending Big Sky Conference champions and 2008 NCAA tournament participant Portland State, will also mark the debut of first year head coach Ben Braun and the renovated Tudor Fieldhouse.

Construction on the fieldhouse began 16 months ago, with the finish date set for today's women's game against California State University- Northridge. The fieldhouse features a brand new student-athlete study and resource center, weight room and locker rooms. Aside from generating excitement for the start of the season, the opening of the on-campus facility has provided a sense of optimism and stability to a program that desperately needed it after the events of last season.

"I've been waiting for this for the past six months," senior guard Rodney Foster said about Saturday's game. "We've been preparing for this all summer and all fall. Saturday's the grand opening, and we're really looking forward to it."

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Not only are the Owls coming off a 3-27 campaign last season, but they are also faced with the task of replacing two of the top three scorers from last season's team in senior forwards Paulius Packevicius (Wiess '08) and Patrick Britton (Jones '08), who both graduated in May.

Packevicius played in only 18 games last season and still managed to lead the team in total rebounds, with an average of 9.8 per game, and he was third on the team in scoring. In May, Packevicius inked a three-year deal to play for Fastweb Casale Monferrato in the Italian Serie A2, a second-tier league in Italy.

Britton's play picked up after Packevicius' injury. He led the team in scoring in six of the final nine games and finished the season with the team's highest points per game average at 11.3.

With the departure of Packevicius and Britton, the frontcourt remains the largest uncertainty for the Owls heading into the season. Junior Lawrence Ghoram, listed as a guard, is the top returning rebounder on the team with 3.8 per game. In addition to Ghoram, senior forward Aleks Perka and sophomore forward Suleiman Braimoh are likely to see extensive playing time.

Sophomore center Trey Stanton, a 6 foot, 10-inch tall sophomore transfer from the Navy who was ineligible last year by NCAA regulations, is the tallest player on the roster and was named to the Patriot League All-Freshman team during his only season in Annapolis, Md. Stanton shot 37 percent from beyond the arc at Navy and recorded a team high 24 blocked shots. The last freshman at Navy to record that many blocks was David Robinson in 1984.

Braun emphasized defense in the pre-season, and players on the team believe their communication in that area has improved considerably. However, the lack of size outside of Stanton will force the Owls to work even harder around the boards to limit opposing teams' second chance opportunities.

PSU does not possess a notable height advantage over the Owls, but they do have skilled big men and a deft swing forward in Phil Nelson, who came off the bench to score a leading 19 points in their victory over Western Oregon University last weekend.

Aside from being a test for the Rice forwards, the game tomorrow will also feature exciting matchups on the perimeter. Senior Jeremiah Dominguez, who stands at just 5 feet 6 inches, led the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game and was named Big Sky conference player of the year last season.

If the game tomorrow does turn into a shootout, then Rice fans can expect to see different sets from the motion offense that former head coach Willis Wilson used last season, which ended with Rice ranked last in the conference in points scored and shooting percentage.

"The offense is more free flowing," Foster said. "There's a lot more emphasis on ball movement, player movement and reading the defense. I think it will be fun to watch."

The return of junior guard Cory Pflieger will boost the team's offensive game since he is capable of stretching defenses with his accuracy from the perimeter. Pflieger was granted a medical redshirt after missing all but five games last season to an ankle injury.

Other returning players in the backcourt are Foster and sophomore Bryan Beasley. Foster played nearly 34 minutes per game last season, leading the team in assists. The other returning guard, Beasley, gained valuable experience in his first season as he started 20 of 30 games and finished second in assists.

While it is still too early to tell the extent to which Braun has improved the current team, his effect on the recruiting trail is already evident as he scored a coup in landing a verbal commitment from Iranian-born power forward Arsalan Kazemi. According to multiple recruiting Web sites, the 6-foot, 7-inch, 190-pound Kazemi received scholarship offers from some of the biggest names in the business, including Conference USA rival Memphis and non-conference schools such as the University of Louisville, University of Maryland and Oklahoma State University.

Kazemi is actually one of five early verbal commitments that the Owls received for the class of 2009, the most of any C-USA school.

The players that signed their letters of intent this last Wednesday will be the second class recruited to Rice by Braun. After arriving late last spring, Braun was confronted with a team that had just six players on scholarship, including only two seniors and two juniors.

Working to make up lost recruiting time, Braun was able to bring in five freshmen, three of whom are forwards. Forward Lucas Kuipers and guard Connor Frizzelle have received praise for their play in a scrimmage game against Houston Baptist University last week. With only four upperclassmen on the roster, it is likely the pair will receive significant playing time by the end of the season.

The team has not set any goals regarding total wins, but instead they have stressed the need to stay healthy and improve each day in practice.

"Our goal is to look forward and see what we can change positively from last year to this year," Braun said. "Sometimes it's just a matter of getting a year older, a year smarter and a year more confident. But, there are also things you can control. You can control how hard you play and how hard you work."

Starting this season, the Owls chose to start practice at 6 a.m., with some players arriving as early as 4:45 a.m. to receive treatment and participate in stretching and warm-ups before practice. The energy and motivation reflected in practice are the product of a new voice in the locker room, the return of players from injury and the near doubling of the roster size, all of which have helped to dissolve the painful losses of the last few seasons.

While winning certainly will not come easy to the Owls, this Saturday marks the beginning of an entirely new era in men's basketball at Rice University, and that alone is reason to be optimistic.

Opening Day Tailgate

On Saturday, November 15, the Men's Basketball team will open their season at the renovated Tudor Fieldhouse at 3 p.m. against Portland State. Admission is free to all students. This will mark the first home game on campus for the men's basketball team since the 2006-2007 season, and will be the first game at Rice for new head coach Ben Braun.

Portland State finished last season 23-10 with an appearance in the NCAA tournament, where they were defeated by eventual national champion Kansas in the first round. The Big Sky champion Vikings return leading scorer and assist man, 5'6" senior Jeremiah Dominguez.

Before the game, there will be an exciting tailgating experience on the intramural field next to Autry, where there will be free food and drinks courtesy of our sponsors in the village, including Domino's, Coke, Jersey Mike's and Mission Burrito. In addition, there will be games and activities including face painting and basketball competitions for prizes.

"There is nothing like the feeling of walking out of a morning shoot a round and seeing the student body camped out or lined up in anticipation of getting into the arena on game day," said Coach Ben Braun. "It is a huge boost for all the players and coaches to be able to see the Rice Students getting geared up for a big game. The Tudor Tailgate will be the opening phase of giving our team a true home court advantage. We are looking forward to seeing the Tudor Tailgate in action and can't wait to bring Rice Basketball back to the students in Tudor Fieldhouse."

The pre-game Tudor Tailgate begins at 1 p.m. on the day of the game. All food and events will be first-come, first-served while supplies last. Live music will be playing with both student bands and the Basketball Owl Band in attendance.

Rice Marketing will be handing out student section shirts prior to the game. These shirts will be free and will bear the name of the student section selected by the students at the homecoming game vote.

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