KINGSTON, R.I. – Rhode Island officially added graduate transfer Ishmael El-Amin to its men's basketball roster for the 2021-22 season, head coach David Cox announced.

A four-year player at Ball State, El-Amin has been a highly productive guard throughout his entire career. Already a 1,000-point scorer, he has averaged 10.4 points per game over 104 career contests. In 2020-21, he averaged 16.2 points per game while earning All-MAC honors for the second straight season. He started all 54 games he played over the last two seasons for Ball State.

"This is a battle-tested, mature young man who will have an immediate impact on our program," Cox said. "Ishmael provides us a strong shooting presence on the perimeter, but he is more than just a shooter. He can score in a multitude of ways and distribute the ball. He has a strong understanding of all aspects of the game."

Assistant coach Austin Carroll was the lead recruiter on El-Amin, who earned second-team All-Mac honors in 2020-21 after being a third-team selection the year before. Carroll pointed to El-Amin's maturity as a key asset the guard possesses.

"On and off the court, Ishmael is a natural leader," Carroll said. "As talented as he is as player, his presence and who he is as a man will be noticeable. With the talent that we have returning, he is a strong fit in many different ways for the team."

El-Amin is a career .355 shooter from the 3-point arc, making 173-of-487 attempts. For perspective, the 173 makes would rank sixth in Rhode Island history. He has shot .414 from the floor for his career, and .778 at the free throw line. Last season, he was an 88.1 percent free throw shooter (59-of-67).

Solid with the ball in his hands, El-Amin has 204 career assists with 179 turnovers. On the defensive end of the floor, he has 95 career steals, averaging 1.2 per game over the last two seasons.

Off the court, El-Amin is a conscientious young man willing to use his platform for the good of others. Last summer, during a time of civil unrest in the country, he led a peaceful protest march last June 4 on the Ball State campus in Muncie, Ind. shortly after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. A graduate of Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn., he grew up not too far from where Floyd died, so the incident hit home even more.

"I felt like with the platform I have I could orchestrate a peaceful protest for the community that I've been a part of for the last four years and for the school that has welcomed me with open arms," El-Amin told The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy. "I just wanted to show that we're tired of the injustice that we've been receiving, and we won't sit back and be quiet about it and not speak about it. We deserve change, and we demand it."

As an indication of the respect El-Amin attracts, the protest was delayed by a day because of the number of recent Ball State alumni who contacted him and indicated they wanted to return to the campus to participate. Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns personally contacted El-Amin to request to participate.

"Ishmael has a quality that draws people to him," Carroll said. "Whether it is basketball or life in general, he sees what is going on around him. He puts the work into everything he does, and it has a way of rubbing off on others around him. He has a lot to offer, and we are very excited to bring him in to the program."