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Temple transfer Jeremiah Williams commits to Iowa State over Illinois, DePaul, Georgia

Alyssa Hertel
Des Moines Register

Temple guard Jeremiah Williams announced Monday that he is transferring to Iowa State. He's a versatile 6-foot-5 guard from Chicago known for his defense and playmaking abilities.

Williams told the Register he wanted to transfer closer to his home in Chicago and he had narrowed his choices down to Iowa State, DePaul, Illinois and Georgia. BYU, Stanford and Ole Miss were among the schools that also reached out.

"Going through this process, I know what I’m looking for and how things should be or how I feel they should be," Williams said. "So (Iowa State) caught my eye pretty early, and developed and trusted coach (T.J. Otzelberger) pretty early."

More:In-depth with Jeremiah Williams: Temple transfer breaks down Iowa State commitment

Williams has been a large piece of Temple’s team since joining the Owls in 2020-21 out of high school. In his first season, Williams led Temple in assists (4.1), steals (1.2) and minutes (32.6) per game. His 9.3 points per game was third on the team.

He continued to be a major contributor this season, with Williams being a sort of player-coach and a boost for the Owls on both ends of the floor, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Williams’ season was cut short when he injured his shoulder in Temple’s 52-49 loss to South Florida in early February. He played 17 minutes in Temple’s Feb. 24 loss to Memphis but missed seven of the Owls’ final eight games of the year.

Former Temple guard Jeremiah Williams announced he would join the Iowa State men's basketball team after entering the transfer portal in late March.

More: Iowa State has an 'us against the world' approach in NCAA Tournament

He averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds this year for Temple. He will be eligible immediately at Iowa State.

As of Williams' announcement, should no other Iowa State players enter the portal, the Cyclones will have two scholarships remaining for the upcoming season.

Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.