Roger and Out
Talk about it in the Message Boards
It has been a long road back for Houston
Strake Jesuit point guard,
Stevie Rogers who has suffered two
ACL injuries. The 5-foot-10, Rogers hurt
himself back in May of 2007 and hasn't
seen much of the court since. It wasn't
a surprise to why Rogers decided to
commit to a local program in Houston
since he has so much to prove.
"Stevie committed to Rice," said Rogers'
summer coach, Ricky Nelson of Houston
Elite. "Stevie wanted to stay close to
his family and show everyone that his
injury isn't going to stop him from
reaching his goals."
Rogers talks about how he came to his
decision to commit to Rice.
"Before I tore my ACL, basketball was
the priority. After, I put things into
perspective, and academics were going to
be the focal point when making any
decision."
Other schools that Rogers was interested
in were, Houston Baptist, Furman, and
Pepperdine. Rogers didn't have a chance
to visit any of these schools
officially, but after attending Rice
earlier today, he put an end to any
plans.
"Head coach (Ben) Braun is trying to
turn around the program now. He said
that with the other recruits that he is
bring in, he feels that having a point
guard was the missing piece. Coach Braun
is really getting the future set and
rebuilding the team. Also, it is close
to home where my friends and family can
see me play, and Rice has great academic
programs."
Rice went out to Strake three or four
times to watch Rogers on the court.
"I thought that I had ok workouts in
front of the coaching staff. I didn't
score much, but the coaches for Rice
liked that I was creating for other
players and making good decisions with
the ball in my hands."
Rogers feels that he has become a
different player and more complete point
guard since having to watch from the
sidelines for nearly 16 months.
"Setting and watching a game made me
realize that I was just seeing what a
player sees on the court when playing. I
had a chance to coach an eight-grade
boys team over the summer for Total
Package and I saw the game from a whole
new perspective, the coaches. I think
that I have taken what I have learned
while not playing and put it in my game
now. I can see both sides."
Finally, Rogers says that he is ready to
take the court in a real game.
"I feel great. I have worked hard to
come back from two ACL injuries.
Everything that I have done has paid off
for me and my family."
Rogers' parents, head coach of Jesuit,
Wayne Jones helped him with the
recruiting process along with Rick
Nelson
