Guard Tamir Jackson, in a recent offensive slump, requested to come off the bench Wednesday at SMU. (Andrew Richardson/For the Chronicle)
Rice coach Ben Braun says he was supportive when junior guard Tamir Jackson came to him earlier this week and asked to come off the bench.
Jackson, the Owls’ second-leading scorer who has been in a recent shooting slump, was not in the starting lineup in Wednesday’s 68-52 win at SMU. He had two points and four turnovers in 13 minutes.
Wins needed by Ben Braun to reach 600 for his career.
“We talked about he had been struggling and thought it would be best if he came off the bench,” Braun said Thursday. “I thought that was a pretty good gesture.
“Every player has my support and is going to get our support. But sometimes when you are struggling, you’ve got to step down and pull yourself up. Every player goes through it.”
Before Wednesday, Jackson was shooting 26.5 percent (13-of-49) during the Owls’ three-game losing streak.
Freshman Ahmad Ibrahim started in place of Jackson and finished with 14 points, five rebounds and career-high four assists.
Asked if Jackson will continue to come off the bench, Braun said it was too early to say. The Owls play at Tulane on Saturday.
“I’d like to see him get his confidence back,” Braun said. “You have to get that back a little bit. We’ll see what happens. Right now it’s kind of early to say.”
Jackson needs three points to reach 1,000 for his career.
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Braun said he was pleased with the defense by forward Lucas Kuipers on SMU leading scorer Robert Nyakundi, who had 14 points but was only 2-of-8 from 3-point range.
“I thought he defended Nyakundi really well,” Braun said. “When he wanted to, he locked down him pretty good.”
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For the second time this season, Braun’s rotation included forward Arsalan Kazemi and 7-foot-2 center Omar Oraby on the court at the same time.
“Omar enjoys that challenge,” Braun said. “Arsalan sure likes it.”
Oraby and Kazemi played together for six minutes in the Conference USA opener against Marshall and about the same amount of time Wednesday against SMU.
Oraby had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against Marshall; he had five points and two rebounds against SMU.
“I think Arsalan will give up some rebounds to get somebody to help him,” Braun said. “We’ve played primarily man, but we can some zone if we have to.”
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