Feb 18, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Rice Owls head coach Mike Rhoades gestuers from the sidelines against the UTEP Miners during the first half at Tudor Fieldhouse. Photo Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Virginia Commonwealth took just one day to hire a replacement for Will Wade, announcing that Rice coach Mike Rhoades has been named the Rams’ new head basketball coach.
Wade, who led the Rams to a 26-9 record and NCAA Tournament berth this season, was hired as the new coach at LSU on Monday.
Like Wade, Rhoades served as an assistant coach at VCU under former Rams coach Shaka Smart for five years before becoming the head coach at Rice in 2014.
In three seasons with the Owls, he compiled a 47-52 record. This season Rice was 23-12, including 11-7 in Conference USA.
–Less than a week after taking Winthrop to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years, Pat Kelsey was hired as the new head basketball coach at Massachusetts.
Kelsey replaces Derek Kellogg, who was fired by UMass two weeks ago after the Minutemen finished the season 15-18, including 4-14 in the Atlantic 10.
Kelsey spent five years as the head coach at Winthrop, and went 102-59. His team shared the Big South regular-season title each of the last two seasons.
–Oklahoma State sophomore point guard Jawun Evans is entering the NBA Draft with the intention of staying in the draft, ESPN reported.
Evans, 20, averaged a career-high 19.2 points, 6.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 32 games during the 2016-17 season. He ranks ninth in the country in assists per game.
The Dallas native is the 59th-best rated prospect and the 14th-best point guard in the 2017 NBA Draft class according to CBS Sports.
–Texas A&M power forward Robert Williams announced that he will return for his sophomore season after considering applying for the NBA draft.
The 6-foot-9 Williams has been projected as a lottery pick but said he wants to further develop his game. He averaged 11.9 points and 8.2 rebounds and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman
