Pera has banners on his mind after taking over as coach
Filling out staff, retaining current players, wading into recruiting pool on early to-do list
Scott Pera made sure he didn’t leave the podium during Saturday’s introduction as the new Rice men’s basketball coach without talking about banners.
He’s not trying to win the news conference. Twenty-three victories this year set up those kinds of expectations for the 2017-18 season.
“We’ll work our tails off even harder than we have before to make sure that after 1970, there’s a 2018, 2019, 2020 NCAA Tournament banner,” Pera said.
With Pera’s promotion to build on what now-Virginia Commonwealth head coach Mike Rhoades started with the Owls, Rice believes it soon can stop talking about 1970.
Pera’s formal introduction Saturday was a celebration as much as it was an actual introduction — or reintroduction in this case. Rice stayed in-house and promoted Pera from the associate head coach position with Rhoades’ exit.
Fans and players were in attendance as was Rice trustee and alumnus Bobby Tudor, who was part of the search committee.
Rockets guard James Harden wouldn’t miss it. Pera was his coach at Artesia High School in Los Angeles. The MVP candidate is so excited for Pera that he feels like he was the one on the podium Saturday.
“I’m extremely proud,” Harden said. “I feel like I accomplished something today.” Pera hasn’t been resting. His immediate checklist includes recruiting and filling out a coaching staff. Pera said those two points could interchange as “1 and 1A.”
“I’m not even going to say what order,” Pera said. “I’ve already been on the phone recruiting. The response has been tremendous that they kept me. That’s also humbling. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to get the right fit for this place.”
No shortage of interest
Rice didn’t sign anyone during the early signing period in November, but the regular signing period looms on April 12.
The starting lineup that helped the Owls to 23 wins is slated to return and that includes dynamic duo Marcus Evans and Egor Koulechov.
Pera said he’d continue a recruiting approach often used at Rice, which is to go national or even international. Rhoades hit it big by bringing Evans in from Virginia. Guard Marcus Jackson, who will see his second coaching change at Rice, is from California.
“I meant what I said,” Pera said. “The four corners of this country, we can be able to go anywhere and at least take a shot.”
Perhaps a little different from Rhoades, Pera has extensive ties to the high school game in addition to stops at Arizona State and Penn with state titles at Artesia and Annville-Cleona High School (Pa.). He said that already has helped him on the recruiting trail as a Rice assistant and expects to tap into those relationships even more now.
Pera is hoping to have his staff finalized by the end of the weekend but while he may not have to start from scratch with the roster, he will with the staff. Assistants Brent Scott, J.D. Byers and VCU product Joey Rodriguez are accompanying Rhoades to Richmond, Va.
There is no shortage of interest at Rice, though.
“I know how important that is plus I need to stop answering 500 texts about job opportunities,” Pera said.
Transfers possible
Although there are no apparent signs any current player is leaving, Pera also addressed the possibility of transfers, which has become commonplace in college basketball.
“You have to understand it’s 2017,” Pera said. “Things are going to happen. Do I hope we have them all back? Of course I do. And I’m going to do everything in my power to let them know that they’re welcomed and hope they all will stay. But I’m also not ignorant to the current dilemma that we in college basketball face.”