KINGSTON, R.I. – Rhode Island has officially added five transfers to its roster for the 2024-25 season. Four of the five have Power 5 experience, and the fifth is a familiar face returning to the Rams after one season away.

Guards Jamarques Lawrence (Nebraska), Sebastian Thomas (UAlbany) and Quentin Diboundje (East Carolina) strengthen the Rhode Island backcourt. Center Javonte Brown (Western Michigan) and forward Drissa Traore (St. John's) add significant size and depth to the frontcourt. It is a group that has played a combined 315 collegiate games, bringing experience and maturity to the Rams.

"Each of the players coming in has competed well against high-level competition," Rhode Island head coach Archie Miller said. "Combined with the returning core, we were able to identify and bring in men with character that meshes well with the vision for the program. We were deliberate with our approach to the transfer portal and believe that it has produced strong results."

The 6-3, 183-pound Lawrence is a rising junior coming to Kingston after spending the last two seasons at Nebraska. He played 62 games for the Cornhuskers, averaging 6.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Last season, Lawrence started 23 of the 34 games he played while helping Nebraska win 23 games and earn a spot in the NCAA Championship field.

"Jamarques brings maturity and significant experience playing against high-level competition," Rhode Island head coach Archie Miller said. "He can play on or off the ball, which gives us flexibility. Jamarques plays hard on both ends of the floor and makes players around him better."

A native of Plainfield, N.J., Lawrence started the first 23 games of the season as a sophomore and remained productive when coming off the bench down the stretch. Over the final 11 games of the season, his scoring increased to 9.5 points per game as he shot 55 percent from the floor and 52 percent from 3-point range.

In each of his first two years, Lawrence's production has increased as the season ran deeper. As a freshman, he averaged 5.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game overall. However, he took over a starting role in mid-January after Emmanuel Bandoumel suffered a season-ending injury. From that point on, Lawrence averaged 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists overall the final 12 games of the year.

Named to the Big 10 Academic All-Conference Team in 2023-24, Lawrence was a consensus three-star recruit out of Roselle Catholic. He was a top-150 prospect who was recruited by the likes of Wake Forest, DePaul, Virginia Tech, Cal and Wichita State.

Rhode Island fans are already familiar with Thomas, the Providence native who played two seasons in Kingston before spending last season at UAlbany. In his lone season with the Great Danes, Thomas was an All-America East Second Team selection, averaging 19.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game. This was a significant jump from his time at URI, where he averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 rebounds as a sophomore. Always a strong ball handler, Thomas has 306 career assists with 171 turnovers over 94 career games,

"Sebastian knows what we are looking for on a day in and day out basis," Miller said. "He has a high basketball IQ and plays fast. He is a tremendously hard worker, and his game obviously matured over the last year as a result. He will be an impact player for us."

One of the areas the hard work has paid off for Thomas has been at the free throw line. He shot 77.5 percent from the line last season (141-for-182). He has shown significant improvement each year. As a freshman, he shot 36.7 percent (11-for-30), which jumped to 64.8 percent (35-of-54) in 2022-23.

In 62 games with Rhode Island, Thomas had 25 3-pointers, 117 rebounds, 150 assists and 46 steals combined. In 32 games last year with the Great Danes, he had 50 3-pointers, 134 rebounds, 156 assists and 62 steals.

The arrival of Thomas and Lawrence should improve URI's ability to pressure the ball defensively in the backcourt. Last season, Thomas (62) and Lawrence (27) combined for 89 steals with their respective teams. No URI player had more than 25 steals in 2023-24.

Also joining the backcourt is Diboundje, who arrives from ECU with one season of eligibility. An excellent leaper with a muscular 6-5, 221-pound frame, Diboundje averaged 6.8 points and 2.4 rebounds over 17 games last year for the Pirates. An ankle injury caused him to miss most of the second half of the season after he had averaged 7.1 points over 30 games in 2023-24.

"Quentin is a superb athlete who has proven he can be a starter or be productive off the bench," Miller said. "He gives us length and strength on the wing. He is a strong defensive presence who can guard multiple perimeter positions. Offensively he can score in a variety of ways and is able to get to the free throw line."

Diboundje spent his freshman season at Tennessee, appearing in seven games for the Vols in 2022-23. A native of Montepellier, France, Diboundje scored in double figures 12 times in 47 games with East Carolina, including a career-best 27 against Georgia Southern, a game in which he was 7-for-10 from the arc.

The addition of Lawrence, Thomas and Diboundje gives URI a backcourt that also includes senior Jaden House, sophomore Cam Estevez and junior Always Wright. That is a group with 378 games of experience and more than 3,300 combined career points.

The program's most recent commit is Brown, a 7-0, 255-pound center by way of Western Michigan. Coming to URI with two seasons of eligibility, Brown's game emerged last season with the Broncos, where he averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. He played in 23 games as a reserve after sitting out the first semester because he was a two-time transfer.

"Javonte is a high-impact presence in the paint on both ends of the floor," Miller said. "He gives us significant size under the basket and is a disciplined defender. He was very productive with his minutes last season as his game matured."  

Brown began his career at UConn, where he was recruited to Dan Hurley's program by Kenya Hunter as a four-star recruit that was part of the Huskies' No. 23 ranked class that year. He transferred to Texas A&M after his freshman season and spent two seasons there in the SEC, appearing in 38 games over 1.5 seasons with the Aggies.

After redshirting as a freshman, the 6-8, 220-pound Traore played in 42 games over the last two seasons at St. John's. In 2023-24, he averaged 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds over 28 games, helping the team go 20-13 overall.

When he entered the transfer portal, Traore was the final player remaining from the Mike Anderson era with the Red Storm. At his introductory press conference when he was named head coach, Rick Pitino mentioned Traore as one of only two players he wanted to keep in the program. This was due to the positive impact Traore had on team culture.

"Drissa can impact the game for us, particularly on the defensive end," Miller said. "He has gone against Big East competition for the last three years and he was part of Rick Pitino's rotation last season. As his game continues to grow with more opportunity, he'll be able to showcase what he can do."

A three-star recruit out of Long Island Lutheran, Traore initially chose St. John's over the likes of Tulane, East Carolina and Stony Brook.

In addition to the five transfers, Rhode Island also has 6-6 freshman forward Tyonne Farrell joining the program in the fall. He was a first-time All-Baltimore Catholic League selection while leading Mount St. Joseph to a 36-5 overall record and regular-season league title in 2023-24.