URI Men’s Basketball Signs Three Players From the Portal

URI Men’s Basketball Signs Three Players From the Portal

The portal and transfer season has been relatively quiet for URI basketball thus far, but the team has now acquired three new players. The Rams have signed guard Dylan Williamson, forward Matas Deniusas, and wing Jason Fontenet II.

Williamson is a 6’ 1” senior point guard who has spent the past four years at Towson University. He was a redshirt his first year, started 14 games as a redshirt freshman, and was selected to the All-CAA Rookie Team. He permanently moved into a starting position during his sophomore and junior years.

During this past season, Williamson averaged 14.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, and 3.4 apg. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0 is considered very good and indicates good vision and good decision-making with the ball.

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Williamson lit up the Rams

This past November, during the ESPN tournament in Orlando, Florida, URI lost to the Towson Tigers 62-55. Williamson scored 25 points, hitting 5 of 9 on 3-pointers with 3 rebounds, one assist, and two turnovers. He played 38:48 minutes, committing only one foul.

Williamson is known for playing with toughness and having a high basketball IQ. He is from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the same hometown as URI great and former NBA player Jeff Dowtin Jr. If Williamson plays anywhere as well as Dowtin did, coach Archie Miller has found the point guard he craves.

 

International reach

The other signee is Matas Deniusas, who is a 6’ 9” forward from Lithuania.  Deniusas is currently a freshman transfer from the University of Tennessee at Martin, which plays in the Ohio Valley Conference. This past year, he averaged 12.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 1.5 apg. He had a 43% field goal percentage, shot 33.6% from 3-point range, and 75% from the free throw line.

Deniusas was the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and OVC Second Team All-Conference.

Deniusas is a talented but still developing player. A review of his highlight film shows a player who is comfortable with the ball, can dribble drive left or right, is good in the two-man game, and can stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting.

 

Lithuanian connection

URI will have a strong Lithuanian presence as incoming freshman Nedas Raupelis is also from Lithuania. Raupelis is a 6’ 9” forward who committed to URI last November.

Deniusas and Raupelis know each other, having attended the same school for a while. In the past, they have been teammates and have also played against each other.

The URI dining halls will have to add cepelinai (stuffed potato dumplings), a traditional Lithuanian dish, to their menus to help make these two new athletes feel at home.

 

Rams tap into the West Coast

The Rams have also signed 6’ 6” swing man Jason Fontenet II from UC Santa Barbara. Fontenet has been at Santa Barbara for three years, but only played in the first five games this past year before missing the remainder of the season due to hip and knee injuries. In September, he will be a senior but may be eligible for a medical redshirt, and if granted, he will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Big things were expected from Fontenet this past season as he was a preseason All-Big West selection. Without Fontenet, the Gauchos finished 7th in their conference, going 11-9 and 18-14 overall.

 

Showed great improvement

As a freshman, Fontenet appeared in 31 games, all off the bench. He averaged 5.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and shot 34% from 3.

In his sophomore year, he started all 34 games and improved in every statistical category, except for a slight drop in 3-point shooting percentage. He averaged 9.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and shot 42% on field goals, 32% from 3, and 77% from the free throw line. His assist-to-turnover ratio was 1.6, and he blocked 10 shots.

Fontenet is known as a tough and gritty player who rebounds and shoots well. He is a multi-faceted wing with play-making ability.

 

Father and grandfather were players

Basketball is in his DNA. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, his father, Jason Fontenet, was a standout point guard at Oregon State, and his grandfather, B.B. Fontenet, played at Nevada, was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, and played overseas.

 

Still have spots to fill

Coach Miller still has some roster spots to fill. In particular, there is a need for a big man in the middle. Last year, the URI roster had no true center, with the tallest player being 6’ 9”. Opponents exploited this weakness. With no bulk or height underneath, URI got worn down during games, particularly in A-10 Conference play.

For the 2025-26 season, the NCAA increased the number of basketball scholarships from 13 to 15. The URI roster currently sits at 12 scholarship players, so Miller has room and the need to add more players.