One of the weirder stories to come out this year in Houston sports was Arsalan Kazemi's declaration that he would likely test the professional waters after the season. No disrespect to Kazemi, who was easily Rice's best player last season, but they were Conference USA bottom feeders and there are a lot of rough aspects in his game. As far as I can tell, Kazemi has never actually been involved in a mock NBA Draft. The best compliment I've seen for him is that he's ranked #22 by DraftExpress in his class. A distinction that while great, guarantees him nothing.
↵To his credit, Kazemi recognized that he has no reason to go through the draft process just yet. And according to the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte, will not use his one chance to run through the process without hiring an agent until his junior season.
↵Rice won't have a boatload of incoming talent, garnering only a few two star recruits per Rivals for next season, but as Kazemi matures and develops, he could be the leader of a relevant Owls basketball squad. It's a good sign for Kazemi's future that he didn't delude himself into thinking he was going to be relevant in this year's draft.
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