Facing the future

By Yan Digilov     2/4/10 6:00pm

Be sure to find the video interviews below.

It is a cold July day in Auckland, New Zealand, but Arsalan Kazemi is sweltering, sweating after sprinting up and down a lacquered basketball floor. Kazemi, playing for the Iranian squad in the FIBA Under-19 World Championship, steps to the free throw line and calmly sinks a pair, padding his 23-point, nine-rebound performance and sealing a 93-53 win over Syria.

On the other side of the globe, some 7,000 miles away, Tamir Jackson finishes his routine at Tudor Fieldhouse by draining 10 free throws in a row before walking into Houston's interminable, indomitable 100-degree summer heat, a forceful reminder that his new home is nothing like the New Jersey of his youth.

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Two players. Two nations. One massive adjustment.

Now, adjustment is a common theme for any incoming freshman, be they athletes or mechanical engineers, and it was something Kazemi and Jackson were both readily expecting. But at summer's end, these two young basketball talents would begin a process better likened to a pre-arranged marriage than to a mere change.

As Jackson grew accustomed to Houston's summer heat and Kazemi began feeling the pressures of being the first Iranian national to earn a Division basketball scholarship, time was winding down to the start of the school year. And with the end of summer came an end to part of their individual identities, because once the school year began, one could hardly be mentioned without the other in the same breath.

A hardwood connection

Before they ever connected for a fast break dunk or high-post pick and roll, Jackson and Kazemi stayed in touch throughout their senior year of high school, sharing their expectations and dreams of becoming the future leaders of Ben Braun's men's basketball squad.

In his senior year at The Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C., Kazemi garnered as much media attention for his stellar dunks as he did for being an Iranian playing ball in the United States. At the same time, Jackson was vying for leadership of a storied St. Benedict's Preparatory School program in Newark, N.J., a squad that was consistently named one of the top 10 teams in the nation.

Once they both declared their intention to become Owls, their fates were sealed. In his history as an NCAA coach, Braun had built a reputation for building programs out of squalor, and his work at Rice - just one year removed from a 3-27 record - began with these two men as the cornerstone of his vision.

After a few long-distance conversations beforehand, Kazemi's and Jackson's paths finally converged in August after a year of anticipation, and both were made residents of the newly formed McMurtry College.

"My first impression was that it was going to be just books and studying," Jackson said. "But Orientation Week was a lot of fun. It was a fun experience getting to know my peers and getting some fan support."

While the fun and excitement of college life began, the expectations on the court were rapidly mounting. Rice's most solid performer and point guard, Rodney Foster, had graduated, so Jackson, The Newark Star-Ledger's New Jersey Player of the Year, had his work cut out for him. And the team's low post, long a questionable commodity, desperately needed the jump-start that Kazemi could bring.

As much eagerness as there was around these two incoming players, no one could have expected the style and results that they would bring. A large portion of that uncertainty comes from the simple fact that Braun had chosen to put together a kind of tandem no one had ever seen before.

Complementing the styles

How do you guard a 6'7" power forward that is able to combine skillful smoothness with the ability to rouse a crowd with a monster jam? It was a question that has gone unanswered throughout Rice's season - the freshman is averaging 11 points and nine rebounds a game - and was on full display in the team's first games back in November, when he was still an unknown to most of the Rice community.

"I knew I was going to pick Rice," Kazemi said. "I love Rice, especially having an academic college where I can also play basketball. And I love Houston. It is more like my country. I like the warm [weather] better."

Kazemi, typically mind-mannered and fairly reserved, took many aback when he first leapt into the air against Sacramento State, violently grabbing a rebound and sprinting down the court looking for a quick dish. It's a play that he's minted and, more often than not, results in a breathtaking slam.

But his skill set is not limited to sticky hands and supreme showmanship. He has above-average ball-handling, and in that game against Syria, Kazemi - who captained his national squad in the FIBA tournament with a team-leading 16 points per game - also had only one turnover to five assists, a ratio that would give any point guard a grin.

"You know, overseas I could play point guard," he said. "That's what I did for my national team, but not here."

No, being a point guard in the United States is a bit of a stretch for him. Instead, Kazemi is being asked to develop his strength and low-post game in order to fully utilize his athleticism around the rim.

"He has an overseas type of game, but basketball is just all the same," Jackson said. "Put points on the board, get rebounds and get stops. It is nice watching him play and seeing how athletic he is and how smart he is on the floor."

Where Kazemi's game looks distinctly like it came from overseas, Jackson has exhibited a thoroughly American, ahead-of-the-curve style of leadership at the point. Soft hands and a keen eye complement an uncanny ability to score and belie a toughness that isn't often seen. It is the kind of hard-nosed basketball that the United States is known for: athletic guys barreling to the bucket, doing whatever it takes to put points on the board.

Global leadership

Because of Kazemi's background, the Iranian has garnered national attention from Sports Illustrated and ESPN. But true fans of Rice basketball have invested more interest in the trust between the point guard and his postman, knowing that that is the story line truly worth following.

Coming from such vastly different backgrounds - culturally, athletically, spiritually - the two have jumped right into their rhythm as the leaders of their team.

And it is a combination that has proven to be brilliant. The two freshmen sit atop the stat column for the Owls in scoring, and while the team's record (7-14, 1-7 Conference USA) doesn't reflect the strides that they have made in their first D-I experiences, it does not take a fortune teller to tell you these guys will be dangerous.

But there's only one way to get to the future, and that road runs through the present. Despite a solid start to the season, the Owls just reached their first road win on Saturday, snapping a seven-game losing streak.

"It would be nice to win every game you play, but it makes them tougher, going through the trenches and building back up," junior center Trey Stanton said.

History has shown, though, that the tribulations of a struggling team give rise to the greatest of names. Jarett Dillard, Morris Almond, Lance Berkman and Valeriya Berezhynska are all Rice athletes that have attained nearly immortal status for taking their respective programs, struggling though they were, to unforeseen heights.

And now it's Kazemi's and Jackson's turn. In just their first season as Owls, the two have repeatedly heard their names chanted in the crowd. But it remains to be seen if those names will become more than a temporary rallying cry, or if those names will rise to join the immortal ranks, forever emblazoned among the banners drifting from Tudor's rafters. Whatever the result, it is clear that they will be at the final destination together.

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