Ibrahim Signs with Rice
5/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 4, 2011
Rice University basketball coach Ben Braun announced Wednesday the Owls have signed 6-7 guard Ahmad Ibrahim to a National Letter of Intent.
Ibrahim, a native of Lebanon, played his senior high school season at Humble Christian Life Academy where he averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and four rebounds while seeing playing time at all three perimeter positions. He helped lead his high school team to a 30-5 record.
"Ahmad is a very versatile athlete who is certainly a great addition to our program," Braun said. "Living here in Houston, he is quite familiar with Rice University and he has already developed relationships with our players."
While playing for coach Carlos Wilson this past season at Humble Christian Life, Ibrahim was named to the all-tournament teams at the America Airlines Alaska Shootout in Anchorage as well as the Santa Maria Prep Classic played in Santa Maria, Calif.
Last fall, Ibrahim represented his country at the 21st FIBA Asia U18 Championship played in Sana'a, Yemen. In seven games played in the championship, Ibrahim averaged 20.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
Lebanon tied for first in its preliminary round of games with a 2-1 record and was 2-3 in the second round of pool play. Ibrahim scored 32 points against South Korea during the preliminary round and finished with 31 points against Chinese Taipei in the second round.
In addition to playing in the U18 Championship, Ibrahim also played with Lebanon's senior national team last year, averaging 12 points per game during the team's tour of Japan and Taiwan.
Ibrahim first grabbed international attention playing for Lebanon's U18 team as a 16-year old playing at the 2008 FIBA Asia U18 Championship. He averaged 32 points per game through the first two rounds of the tournament. During the second round of the championship, he scored 49 points against Kazakhstan before chipping in 34 points in back-to-back games against China and Syria.
As a junior, Ibrahim attended Mountain State Academy, a college preparatory school located in Beckley, W.Va. Ibrahim helped lead his high school team to the semifinals of the 2010 ESPN RISE National High School Invitational tournament.
Mountain State Academy advanced to the national tournament's semifinals with a 59-53 win over Oak Hill Academy. Ibrahim closed out the scoring in the upset victory with a breakaway dunk.
Ibrahim is the fourth signee in Rice's 2010-11 signing class. During last fall's early signing period the Owls signed combo guard Julian DeBose (6-4, 190) out of St. John College High in Washington, D.C., point guard Dylan Ennis (6-2, 175) out of Chicago Lake Forest Academy and wing player Jarelle Reischel (6-6, 208) who prepped at Point Pleasant Beach High School in New Jersey.