June 28, 2007

It is the dream of every young boy, once he receives his first basketball, to play in the National Basketball Association. The N-B-A! Well, on Thursday, June 28, that dream came true for Rice University's Morris Almond.

Almond, 6' 6" guard and a native of Powder Springs, Ga., heard his name called by NBA commissioner David Stern as the 25th pick by the Utah Jazz.

"I kinda had a hunch that I would go to Utah," said Almond shortly after getting selected. "The Jazz fit my style and I just think it's a perfect fit. It feels good to have the speculation over and now it's time to move forward. All of the years of practice and hard work since I left high school and entered Rice have led me to this point."

The last time Almond was in Salt Lake City, Utah, he scored 42 points by sinking 13 of his 16 field goal attempts, 12 of 14 att he free throw line and four of six three-point bombs against the University of Utah.

He becomes the first Rice Owl to be selected in the first round since Ricky Pierce was the 18th overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. Almond is also the first Owl to be selected in the NBA Draft since Kenny Austin was a fifth-round pick, also by the Detroit Pistons, in 1983.

"That's awesome and really exciting," says Almond's former Rice coach Willis Wilson. "Now I know he can enjoy himself and relax. The Jazz came to see him quite a bit in practice and in games this past season and I spoke with them at length about Morris on a couple of occasions. "

Says former Owl backcourt mate Lorenzo Williams, "I'm really happy for him. He did a great job at Rice and he's a dedicated and hard worker. I know myself and the rest of the guys (on the team) certainly believe he earned it."

During his 2007 senior season, Almond, despite playing with a "bull's-eye" on his back and facing double and even triple-team defenses, was third in the nation in scoring by averaging a C-USA record 26.4 points per game. For his efforts, he was named the 2007 Conference USA Player of the Year and earned AP All-America honorable mention accolades.

Almond appeared on the national radar as a junior when he set, a then, C-USA record by averaging 21.9 points a game in earning first-team all-league honors. He subsequently entered himself for the 2006 NBA Draft and wowed NBA personnel by performing extremely well at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Orlando and in individual NBA team workouts. After withdrawing his name from draft consideration and returning to Rice, Almond instantly became a "marked man" in the opponents' scouting report and yet, he still increased his scoring average by 4.5 points.

He gained further notoriety when he became the first Rice Owl to be selected to Playboy magazine's All-America team and appeared on the cover of Basketball Times.

After scoring just 369 points in his first two collegiate seasons, Almond poured in 1,456 points in his last two campaigns (612 and 844). The 844 points tallied this past season is a school and C-USA record and he also set a single-game C-USA record by draining 44 points vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 2, 2007. He leaves Rice as the school's fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,825 points.

Almond joins his former McEachern High School teammate, Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks, in the league.

Morris is the son of Willie and Patricia Almond (Powder Springs, Ga.) and he earned his bachelor's of arts degree in kinesiology from Rice University in May 2007.

Almond Awards & Honors • Named AP 2007 All-America honorable mention.

• Selected as the 2007 Conference USA Player of the Year.

• Named to the All-Conference USA first team (2006 and 2007).

• Named to the CollegeInsider.com All-America squad.

• Top 30 finalist for the Wooden Award, Naismith Award, and the Senior Class Award.

NABC All-District Morris Almond was named to the NABC All-District 9 first team. The team is selected and voted upon by member coaches of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

USBWA All-District Morris Almond was named to United States Basketball Writers Association All-District 7 first team.

Almond Records Set in 2007 Morris Almond set the following school records during the 2006-07 campaign: Points (844) FTs Made (241) FTs Made-game (18 vs. Colorado State and vs. Houston-J17, 2007).

Almond set the following C-USA records during the 2006-07 season: Scoring Average (26.4) Points (844) FTs Made (241) Points-game (44 vs. Vanderbilt) FTs Made-game (18)

C-USA Games Only records: Points (386) FTs Made (115)