By Shane Donaldson
Associate Athletic Director, Communication and New Media

KINGSTON, R.I. - The most seasoned newcomer for Rhode Island, Dylan Williamson is used to success.

In his four seasons at Towson, the Tigers were 82-52, winning more than 60 percent of their games. After redshirting as a freshman, Williamson played a significant role on the court, scoring 1,326 points and dishing out exactly 300 assists while running the offense from the point guard spot.

Basketball has been a part of Williamson's life for as long as he can remember. He's a highly decorated player, having earned postseason honors from the CAA each of the last three years for Towson. Williamson was an all-rookie team pick in 2023-24, a second-team selection in 2024-25, and a third-team honoree last season.

Those are the fruits of labor for a man whose favorite aspect of the sport happen when nobody is looking.

"What I love the most about basketball is putting in the extra work," Williamson said. "The extra work keeps me going, where I believe I am putting in more work than anyone else. Of course, that lead up to game day has always been one of the best feelings you can have, but knowing the work you put in to get there is big for me."

It is an approach that Williamson said he learned from his coaches at Towson, where he spent four years playing for Pat Skerry and Parfait Bitee. Those are familiar names to Rhode Island fans. Skerry was an assistant for Jim Baron at URI from 2005-08. Bitee was a starting point guard with the Rams from 2004-08, recording 919 points and 331 assists. He still ranks in the top 10 in program history in 3-point field goals with 149.  

"They taught me the importance of playing extremely hard every time I am on the court," Williamson said. "In my four years there, I spent a lot of time with Parfait getting extra work in. He was there for me to help me get extra shots up and to help me be as sharp as possible in every part of the game."

The work paid off. Williamson has averaged double-digit scoring each season of his career, scoring 10.2 per game as a redshirt freshman in 2023-24, and then 14.6 points per game each of the last two seasons. He takes care of the ball, with nearly a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio for his career (300 assists, 159 turnovers), and he is an efficient shooter. For his career, Williamson has shot 40.8 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from the perimeter and 70.3 percent at the free throw line.

Several of his new teammates have referenced Williamson's deep shooting range in practice. Despite already having more than 1,300 points and 222 3-point baskets to his credit, the Upper Marlboro, Md. native is very clear that shooting did not come naturally to him.

"When I first got to college, I couldn't shoot the ball to save my life," Williamson said. "Working out with Coach Skerry and Coach Parfait, I've built my shot up year after year. These past couple years, I have found it. Essentially, I have had to work to extend my range. That was one of the things I talked about with Archie (Miller) when I first got here. He wants me to extend my shooting range to the NBA distance, so I've been working on that."

While the shooting is an individual aspect of his game Williamson is putting time into, it's not what drew him to Rhode Island in the first place.

"The entire coaching staff was there on my visit, and right away they made this feel like another home for me, even though I am from the Maryland area," Williamson said. "The style of play that they talked about, with us playing an aggressive defense, that was a similar style as where I came from. The pace is faster, which is something I was really looking for."

At 6-1 and 180 pounds, Williamson knows he's not the biggest player on the court. But don't get it twisted. He does not play small, on either end of the court.

"As a little guy, we have to be grittier, hungrier on the court," Williamson said. "When you are a smaller player in this game, you have to be willing to do all the little things. It's a mindset: box out, be physical, get your hands everywhere. With our defense here, I know I'll be hedging, and I am used to that from four years at Towson. We did a lot of that there. So, for me, it's a bit of a rolling start, even though it's a new place."

As a new arrival to Kingston, Williamson made it a point to immediately connect with a specific individual in the program. Former point guard and current graduate assistant R.J. Johnson.

"From the time I got here, I have spent a lot of time talking with R.J.," Williamson said. "I've been picking his brain as much as possible so I can understand what the coaches are looking for. He has helped me understand how we will want to play.

"Basketball is about knowing that I am locked in and that I have done everything I can to be as sharp as possible. It's my job to know the game plan going in, to understand as a point guard how I am going to pick apart the defense."

As much as Williamson knows he can fill the bucket, he thrives more off getting everyone else involved in the game.

"I feel like I can read the court really well. It has always been important to me to have a high basketball IQ, so I can see things before they happen," Williamson said. "Playing with guys who can really shoot it like Jonah (Hinton), (Jahmere) Tripp and Barrett (Loer), they are going to get a lot of open looks.

"I like setting people up for shots. I know I can score the ball very well, but it excites me and gets me hyped up to see my teammates have success. Getting an assist, or even seeing someone create their own shot, it means good things are happening for the team."


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