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Rutgers junior guard Montez Mathis has announced his decision to transfer to St. John’s. He had previously announced his intention to enter the transfer portal and made his commitment to the Johnnies publicly on Instagram on Saturday.
Mathis was fourth on the team in scoring with 8.3 points per game on 38.3% shooting, along with 2.8 rebounds last season. He struggled from the three-point line (29.7%) and the free throw line (57.4%).
After starting 67 of the first 75 games of his Rutgers career, Mathis saw his role change midseason by coming off the bench the final 15 games of the season. He continued to play hard and was an elite defender the majority of his three years on the banks, but offensively he was inconsistent.
His team high 25 points in the win over Purdue without Ron Harper Jr. and Cliff Omoruyi was his best performance of the season. He also had 10 points in a strong first half in the second round loss to Houston in the NCAA Tournament.
The former 4-star recruit had a solid career at Rutgers and is a key loss to next season’s roster. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining for St. John’s. Mathis will play the majority of his home games on the same floor at Madison Square Garden as his former high school backcourt mate, Immanuel Quickley, who plays for the New York Knicks.
On Friday, another key player from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, Myles Johnson, announced his decision to transfer to UCLA. Johnson had stated his desire to attend a premier engineering graduate school as his top priority in transferring.
Other roster moves include Mamadou Doucoure transferring to LaSalle, as well as Jacob Young attempting to go pro while maintaining options in the transfer portal.
In addition, Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker have declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining their eligibility by not hiring an agent. They have until July 19 to make a decision to stay in the draft or return for next season.
Rutgers is currently prioritizing a big man to add to the roster and have also made the final three for standout JUCO shooter Josh Baker. As for the loss of Mathis, freshman Mag Mawot should have an opportunity to fill the void and play a similar role next season.