Basketball undefeated through first weekend
The hype has been there for months. Now, the results are coming in, and it looks like the immense promise that comes with the conference's top recruiting class is starting to pay off. The men's basketball team came racing out of the gate last weekend, and their stellar play resulted in a sweep of the inaugural Rice Basketball Challenge and a 3-0 start for the first time in five years.
The potential brought with highly-touted freshmen recruits Arsalan Kazemi and Tamir Jackson proved well-placed. Both earned significant playing time and made notable contributions, but the real story was the play of unheralded sophomore guard Connor Frizzelle, who earned tournament MVP distinctions while averaging a team-high 15 points per game.
Displaying the same composure that he brought to the starting lineup last season, Frizzelle demonstrated improved off-the-dribble moves and excelled from behind the arc, where he hit on 10 of 14 attempts over the three-game swing.
Recognized last year primarily for his prowess from the free throw line, where he led Conference USA at 86 percent, Frizzelle credits the summer he spent on campus for his improvement.
"After last year, me and the coaching staff had a discussion on what I need to improve on," Frizzelle said. "This summer I was here working out, working on ball-handling and shooting coming off screens."
Jackson, who started all three games as point guard, is the team's second-leading scorer at 10.3 per game. His ability to beat his man one-on-one helped the Owls (3-0) when the offense grew stagnant in halfcourt sets, but he struggled to control the ball once at the basket, turning it over nine times. He got most of his turnovers back, though, leading the team with eight steals.
"Connor, Tamir, and [senior guard] Cliff [Ghoram] showed me some competitiveness this weekend," Head Coach Ben Braun said. "Those guys really stepped up."
Also playing in his first regular season game at Tudor Fieldhouse was freshman guard A.J. Holland, who was looking to solidify himself as the Owls' backup point guard of choice. The son of former Harlem Globetrotter and University of Alabama men's basketball Assistant Coach James Holland, Holland displayed admirable equanimity leading the second unit.
"A.J.'s been around the game a long time and he knows what's expected of himself," Braun said. "All of our freshmen are going to make mistakes, but I'm less concerned about the mistakes they made than their attitude and their ability to improve."
While it may be premature to add saunter and swagger to the list of adjectives describing the Owls, confidence is certainly bubbling to the surface.
That confidence proved necessary as between easy wins over Sacramento State University (1-2) and Houston Baptist University, the Owls faced a nail-biter on Saturday against the University of South Alabama, who were coming off a 20-win season in 2008-09.
Trailing nearly the entire game, the pesky Jaguars (3-1) closed to within a basket in the final 10 seconds before Ghoram made the deciding free throw to put the Owls up four points.
"In the huddle, the coaching staff were telling us to keep our heads up," Frizzelle said. "They told us to keep fighting, and we were able to pull it out."
After completing the inaugural Rice Basketball Challenge, the first tournament hosted by the Owls since 1986, the team faced the University of Arizona Thursday night in Tuscon, Ariz., followed by a game against Furman University (2-0) on the following Tuesday at Tudor at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats (1-0), who are especially tough within the confines of the McKale Center, pose the greatest threat to the Owls' perfect record until third-ranked University of Texas (1-0) visits Tudor for a Sunday matinee following Thanksgiving.
"Compared to last year, we're definitely ahead of the game," Frizzelle said. "Playing three games in three days developed a lot of camaraderie. Especially on Sunday [against Houston Baptist], when you could feel it in the legs, we showed a lot of heart to get the win."
With their 60-46 win over HBU (0-3) on Sunday, the Owls supplanted themselves atop the C-USA standings by virtue of playing an extra game. Thursday's test against Arizona will provide a better benchmark of the Owls' progress, but at least for a short time the team is back where it belongs, perched up high looking down on the competition.
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