NCAA Basketball: Ranking final 4 teams for Rice transfer Quincy Olivari
The Rice Owls is one of several NCAA Basketball programs going through realignment, as they’re heading from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference. They have a really good recruiting class coming in but will be without its best player from this season, Quincy Olivari.
The 6’2 guard is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, and has spent all four seasons at Rice. including 72 career starts. He averaged 16.3 ppg as a sophomore but injuries limited his production as a junior. Olivari bounced back by doubling his scoring output as a senior, leading the Owls with 18.7 ppg.
The guard also produced 5.9 rpg and 2.2 apg, shooting 42% from the field and 36% from three-point range. The All-CUSA guard was in double figures for 32 out of 35 games, including four games with at least 30 points. One was a career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds against Western Kentucky.
Olivari was a volume shooter this past season but showed he can make tough shots and when he got hot, Rice was tough to beat. Now in the portal, he was one of the top available guards available. But that’s soon to change, as he’s now reportedly down to just four options.
Which of the group of teams is the best potential fit for Olivari? Here are my power rankings of the four, using the potential of both winning and playing time for the 5th-year senior as the main standards.