Stony Brook Men’s Basketball had several roster moves this week, despite not having a graduate on the roster.
Rising graduate Omar Habwe announced he would join Stony Brook after three seasons at Mount St. Mary’s in a tweet Tuesday afternoon. Stadium writer Jeff Goodman announced rising junior Juan Felix Rodriguez will join the team after two seasons at Monroe College.
However, rising junior Miles Latimer and rising senior Jeff Otchere have transferred from the program. Latimer announced he will be transferring to Bucknell while Otchere has not revealed his new school.
Habwe will be the first graduate-transfer in program history. The guard played 90 games with the Mountaineers but only started in 26– 23 taking place in his sophomore season. He averaged six points per game in 19 minutes per game across his career. The guard knocked down 38 percent of his shots from the field and 71 percent of his free throws as a Mountaineer.
Rodriguez enters after compiling an impressive résumé at Monroe. The guard earned the NJCAA Region XV Player of the Year award in his two collegiate seasons. Rodriguez repeated as an All-Region Team honoree this season after leading the Mustangs in points, assists, rebounds and steals per game. He averaged 15 points and five boards per contest over the past two years.
Rodriguez led the Mustangs by scoring 28 and 26 points in their Region XV title games this season. Monroe was scheduled to play Colby Community College in the NJCAA Tournament prior to its cancellation.
Latimer made his announcement in a tweet Monday evening. The guard averaged nearly nine points per game in over 29 minutes per game in his two seasons at Stony Brook. The rising junior started all but one game as a freshman and played in 65 games overall.
The guard provided the Seawolves with long-range depth and shot 36 percent from three-point range. Latimer was also third on the team with 53 three-pointers and 44 steals last season. He ranked second on the team by shooting 63-pointers and 77 percent from the charity stripe as a freshman.
Latimer earned America East All-Rookie conference honors as a freshman. The guard arguably made his biggest impact against the UAlbany Great Danes this season. He knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer that pushed the Seawolves to the 52-49 win over the Great Danes on Feb. 29. Latimer knocked down two free throws that iced the game in the 76-73 America East Quarterfinals win over UAlbany, a week later.
ESPN reporter Jeff Borzello reported on Twitter that Otchere would use his final year of eligibility elsewhere Tuesday morning. New York Times writer Adam Zagoria later tweeted Arizona State, Auburn Eastern Michigan, Nebraska, St. John’s and UMass were interested in picking up the center.
Otchere was a two-time America East All-Defensive Team honoree and 2019 conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was the first Seawolf to win the award since Jameel Warney in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Warney later became the program’s first NBA player after joining the Dallas Mavericks.
The center ranks third in program history with nearly two blocks per contest and 78 blocks in a single season from his 2018-19 performance. The rising senior also led the Seawolves shooting inside by knocking down 56 and 54 percent of his shots over the past two seasons, respectively.
Otchere previously played one season at Garden City Community College. He led the NJCAA with nearly four blocks per game and was named the Region VI Defensive Player of the Year.
Stony Brook Athletics has not officially announced these moves as of the time of publication.
Update: Stony Brook Athletics confirmed Habwe’s signing on Wednesday, April 15 and Rodriguez’s signing on Thursday, April 16.
