Rutgers Basketball: Scarlet Knights round out 2023-24 roster with 2 additions

After some questions as to how they were going to fill out the entire roster, Rutgers Basketball landed a pair of key additions in August.

One of the more interesting teams to watch late this offseason was Rutgers Basketball, which dealt with a couple of somewhat unexpected roster departures. Paul Mulcahy and Cam Spencer, two 5th-year projected starting guards, had both entered the transfer portal. And considering that both occurred after many transfers had already picked new homes, the Big Ten program was in a dire situation overall.

To the Scarlet Knights credit, they found a way to fill out the roster. The first move was landing Jeremiah Williams, a transfer from Iowa State. He may have to sit out next season either due to injury or eligibility issues. The other two pickups shouldn’t have the same issues.

The first pickup from the past couple of days was Austin Williams, a transfer from Florida International that missed all of last season with health issues. But it was his two years at Hartford that put him on the map, averaging 15.1 ppg on 50% shooting from the field. The 6’4 former All-America East guard isn’t the same kind of shooter that Spencer was but if healthy, Williams will give them needed depth.

One guy who can shoot is Oskar Palmquist. He’s a 6’8 forward that spent three years at Rutgers, playing limited minutes. He shot 40% from three-point range in the past two years but was looking for a large role so opted to transfer to Elon in the offseason. But it looks like he had a change of heart, deciding to return to the Scarlet Knights instead.

Palmquist gives them some offensive spacing in the frontcourt and someone else to play early in the season, assuming that Mawot Mag still needs time to recover from his season-ending injury. His return gives Rutgers 13 guys, impressive since they were around eight after the NBA Draft deadline.

Time will tell how these three players impact the roster but now Coach Steve Pikiell has a full roster to work with for the 2023-24 campaign. Time will tell whether or not it’s good enough to make the NCAA Tournament.