Tag: Austin Williams

New Jersey native Austin Williams looking to make an impact in first year at Rutgers

Austin Williams brings experience to Rutgers basketball’s backcourt.

Over the last few months, Rutger’s men’s basketball has been busy adding to their roster. One avenue the Scarlet Knights turned to was the transfer portal, allowing them to add a New Jersey native in Austin Williams. After stints with Marist, Hartford, and Florida International University, Williams will now call Piscataway home.

After missing all of last season, due to injuries, Williams will be looking to build on his success at Hartford. During his time as a Hawk, the New Jersey native averaged 15.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. In 2021 he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the America East Tournament after recording 20 points and eight boards in the title-game victory over UMass-Lowell.

In his college career, Williams has made an impact by driving to the basket and creating chaos on defense. Against top-tier competition, he has also shown the ability to take his game to another level. That is a good sign for the Scarlet Knights.

 

Additionally, Williams provides head coach Steve Pikiell with another option in the backcourt. The guard rotation will include Jeremiah Williams, Noah Fernandes, and Derek Simpson. However, if Williams can flash his Hartford form, Pikiell will have no trouble finding him playing time.

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While his role is still to be determined, Rutgers has a talented player in Williams. He can provide a spark off the bench, and as long as he stays healthy, the Rutgers backcourt will be in good hands.

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Rutgers basketball lands Austin Williams in the transfer portal: What you should know

Committing to Rutgers basketball out of the transfer portal, Austin Williams is certainly going to help the Scarlet Knights’ backcourt.

Rutgers basketball landed a big potential part of their team on Saturday with the commitment of Austin Williams out of the transfer portal. Williams comes to Rutgers from FIU.

And while Williams didn’t play at FIU (more on that down below), this is still a significant move for Rutgers. There is now serious depth in the backcourt, the kind of depth that a team with NCAA Tournament ambitions will desperately need to withstand the slugfest that is the Big Ten regular season.

Williams, from Roseland, N.J., played his high school basketball at Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.). He committed to Marist before transferring to Hartford, then FIU and now to Rutgers for his final season of college basketball.

At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Williams is a very good scorer, a solid rebounder and sound defensively. He checks a lot of needs for the Scarlet Knights, who lost all three of their starting guards this offseason.

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Scroll down and learn five things about new Rutgers guard Austin Williams.