On the eve of its trip to Senegal and Portugal, Rutgers men’s basketball formally announced its 2023-2024 roster. The program added three transfers in the last month to complete the roster.
“I am really excited for the 2023-24 Scarlet Knights roster,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “I think this is one of the most athletic and best shooting teams that we have had here on the banks. This roster is filled with experience and some great young talent. We will use this once-in-a-lifetime experience to build team chemistry and get our players some real live game action.”
Rutgers will play four exhibition games during its two country trip from August 8-19. All 13 scholarship players and 4 walk-ons will be on the trip.
The newest additions include Iowa State transfer Jeremiah Williams, FIU transfer Austin Williams as well as the return of Oskar Palmquist.
Jeremiah Williams averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds for Temple as a sophomore during the 2021-2022 season. He was No. 58 nationally with a 31.0 assist rate and No. 359 with a 2.6 steal rate. Williams can defend multiple positions at 6’5” and was No. 130 in foul rate over 40 minutes. His pass first mentality and commitment on the defensive end make him a good fit with the team culture.
He missed all of last season after suffering an Achilles injury in the preseason. He previously played two seasons at Temple before transferring to Iowa State.
“The overall reason why I picked Rutgers was the coaching staff,” (Jeremiah) Williams said. “I loved seeing the culture that they have here at Rutgers. I’ve heard so many great things about Coach Pikiell, so getting acclimated here and meeting the staff in person made me realize that this opportunity is everything I wanted.”
Williams entered the program just in time to join them in Senegal and Portugal.
“I am very grateful to be a late addition to the trip,” (Jeremiah) Williams said. “I’m excited to go and looking forward to using it as a chance to gel with the guys. I’m not looking too far ahead. I am just excited to be here overall. I am going to use this time just to work and get better.”
Austin Williams is a two-time All-America East selection who starred for Hartford previously. While he has one year of eligibility remaining, Williams will need a medical waiver to play next season. He transferred to Florida International (FIU) last year but didn’t play after sitting last season out with an injury. His waiver request appears straightforward.
Before transferring to FIU in Conference USA, he was a standout player at Hartford for two seasons. In 2021-2022, Williams was a First Team All-America East selection after averaging 16.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 27 contests. He shot 50.0% from the floor including 56.0% from two-point range and 30.8% from three-point range. In the conference, he was 4th in scoring and assists while 5th in shooting percentage.
“I’m extremely excited to be here,” (Austin) Williams said. It’s a big step up for me and I’m excited to challenge myself, get better and help this team win. I am happy I chose to come here mostly because I am back close to home, and my family will get a chance to watch my last year of college basketball. It means the world to be back in New Jersey. This is where the whole basketball journey started and it’s great to end my college career here.”
It’s only appropriate during an unprecedented offseason that Rutgers welcomed back Oskar Palmquist as once it’s final moves to complete the roster. He previously transferred out with Jalen Miller and Dean Reiber at the end of last season.
After seeing limited action most of his career, Palmquist emerged in the second half of last season. He had a breakout game on February 1 against Minnesota. He scored a career high 13 points on 3 of 4 shooting from three along with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
With starter Mawot Mag lost for the season due to injury the following game, Palmquist became a regular in the rotation coming off the bench. He made 3 of 4 shots from behind the arc at Indiana. Palmquist hit a big three in a 1 point win at Wisconsin. He also made two timely second half threes in the 19 point comeback win at Penn State. In addition, he gave RU 18 quality minutes in the Big Ten Tournament win over Michigan.
Last season, Palmquist made 12 of 33 shots from three-point range for 36.4%. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 21 appearances while averaging 9.1 minutes per contest.
Here is the complete roster for Rutgers including 13 scholarship players and four walk-ons heading into the 2023-2024 season:
Frontcourt: Cliff Omoruyi, Mawot Mag, Antwone Woolfolk, Emmanuel Ogbole
Wing: Aundre Hyatt, Gavin Griffiths, Antonio Chol, Oskar Palmquist
Backcourt: Noah Fernandes, Derek Simpson, Austin Williams, Jamichael Davis
Walk-ons: Aiden Terry, Zach Hayn, Jacob Morales, Daniel Vessey
I’ll have coverage of the overseas trip and more on the wild offseason for Rutgers basketball soon.
For a detailed breakdown of the roster including the projected rotation, how this team is different, why there should be optimism and more, click here.
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BataliBoli98
August 7, 2023 at 8:52 pm
Great summary, thanks! From where the roster was at just a couple of months ago, this seems like a best case (realistic) scenario. To be sure, there are question marks. Can Ogbole be an adequate backup at center which would enable Wolf to play the 4 alongside of Cliff? How soon will Mag be back at 100% and will he have the same explosiveness? Is Fernandes strong enough to handle the bigger guards of the B1G? That said, I really like the way the roster came together and love that there are multiple guys who can beat their man off of the dribble and attack the basket. Go RU!