'He's a Mismatch': The Almar Atlason Story

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If Old Dominion head coach Mike Jones and the rest of the Monarchs' men's basketball coaching staff happen to struggle with insomnia for a day or two leading up to the ODU-Miami season opener on Monday, Nov. 3, there's a likely reason for the sleepless nights.

Meet Almar Atlason.

The junior sharpshooter from Reykjavik, Iceland joined the RedHawks' program this year via transfer from Bradley University, and the newcomer's skill level is already showing up all over the court.

Get to the rim with ease.

Four-point play.

Drive and dunk.

And that's just in a few minutes of one recent Miami intrasquad scrimmage at Millett Hall.

"Almar's every bit of 6-8, 235, but he's kind of like a guard," Miami head coach Travis Steele said. "Very good basketball IQ, sees things really well on both ends, obviously has tremendous size, shoots it, can pass it and can handle it a little bit."

"He's a mismatch guy…a mismatch problem. He's a hard guard. He's a guy who keeps you up at night as an opposing coach!"

Atlason played in 71 games for the Braves over the past two years, helping Bradley to an impressive 51-21 record over that span, which included a pair of trips to the NIT. He made six three-pointers in a game on two different occasions, including pouring in a career-high 28 points off the bench against Belmont in February 2025. As a rookie, he shot 41% from behind the arc in the 2023-24 campaign and was named to the All-MVC Freshman Team that season.

Atlason's talents should be a perfect fit in Oxford for what the RedHawks are trying to do schematically (especially on the offensive end), with his versatility allowing him to play at the '4' position next to returning big man Antwone Woolfolk or to slide over and slot in at the '5' alongside wings like Eian Elmer and Brant Byers.

Almar Atlason

The vision of how his abilities could blend with Steele's system of play is a big part of what drew Atlason to Miami out of the transfer portal this spring to begin with. "One of the first things he asked me was what I was looking for," Atlason recounted. "I named a few things and then he just said, 'That's how we play and that's what we do.' It was kind of aligned…he wants to play fast, find good threes, play with a fluid style: guys making decisions and moving the ball. I think that fits me very well, and that's what we're doing here.

"I had some numbers and stuff that I looked at after that because everyone sounds like they play the way you think, but then it just matched up. And speaking with everyone, they seemed like good genuine people that you'd want to be around, and they have the ambition to win.

"When you're around good people and they want to win, I think that's a recipe for a really good time."

"For Almar, I think the way he's grown up playing fits here," Steele added. "We play like a European team in a lot of ways on the offensive end —cutting, fast pace, a lot of passing and movement, IQ, skill, and positionless— so I think it's been very seamless for him, just being around that his entire life."

Atlason got his start in basketball back in his native country ('the prettiest place on earth') at the young age of four. But then, what else would you expect from a child whose siblings were already playing for the local club, whose brother was coaching, and whose aunt had previously played for the national team? Almar Atlason

"I was just always around people that enjoyed it and loved it," Atlason said. As he grew older, the up-and-coming prospect then had the opportunity to wear the Iceland jersey himself, beginning international competition as a teenager. "It's always fun to play sports there," Atlason smiled. "We're a small country, but we get a big crowd, and we go and make some noise in whatever sport it is."

Atlason averaged better than 17 points per game in FIBA tournaments for the youth national team at the U18 and U20 level, and made headlines with a 40-point outburst in the U20 Nordic Championship final in June 2024. That led to a chance to compete with Iceland's senior national team this past summer at FIBA EuroBasket 2025.

"For a few years, the men's coach there has let me know about things that are happening, but usually they play in February or November, so those times don't fit well for college players," Atlason said. "This time happened to be in the summer, and [when I was] in the portal, I'd asked the coaches here. They were super-cool and super-happy about that opportunity, and I'm very thankful for that."

The European championship event included NBA stars and household names like Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, just to name a few. Although Atlason's Iceland team didn't earn a victory during its four-game stint in Poland, the trip was still a memorable one for the 20-year-old collegian.

"It was my first experience with them, and it was fun being at a major tournament like this was and getting the opportunity to play your favorite players, like Luka," Atlason said later. "We played a few big-time NBA players and that's just a super-cool experience that not a lot of people get to have.

Almar Atlason

"I thought it was going to be a little weirder than it was," he said, referencing the superstars he encountered on and off the court. "But at the end of the day, they're just also playing basketball…and when you're playing, you can tell how good they are."

Atlason's exposure to the senior-team level can only help him as he heads into his first year wearing the Red and White. "How the game is played there: It's FIBA grown-men ball," Atlason explained after returning from his time overseas. "A lot of angles and a lot of size and a lot of stuff to learn. With how the pros carry themselves, I think it's a good thing to see."

"The confidence level that's got to give him, being in those games and in those moments, is big," Steele commented. "What you are is your life experiences, and he's had some incredible ones representing his country."

With the college basketball season now only a week-and-a-half away, Atlason is looking forward to making his official debut in a Miami jersey, beginning with home games Nov. 3 (vs. Old Dominion) and Nov. 7 (against Trinity Christian). He joins a deep and talented RedHawk team that returns five of its top six scorers after winning a school-record 25 games last year and making a run to the 2025 MAC Tournament championship game. The program's sights are squarely set on getting back to that stage and cutting down the nets in Cleveland next spring to earn a trip to March Madness for the first time since 2007, as evidenced by the #UnfinishedBusiness hashtag that accompanies many of its social media posts.

Peter Suder and Almar Atlason

Steele is excited to see what the upcoming year —his fourth at the helm— will bring as his team chases a conference championship. "We've got a great group of guys that care for one another and play for one another," he said. "We've got good players, obviously, but the connectivity piece is the key.

"That's why I think we've got a chance to be really good."

"One of the biggest thing when I was talking to teams: I wanted to go somewhere where their ambition was to win games and try to go to the tournament," Atlason said. "I think fans are going to see a competitive team that plays a fun game, wants to go far and wants to win."

And while Atlason will certainly be a nightmare mismatch for opposing coaches to try and shut down, one thing is clear:

With his abilities and experience, he has the chance to be an absolutely perfect match for what the RedHawks need to accomplish their goals and raise a trophy next March.

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

2025-26 season tickets, mini-plans and single-game tickets for Miami Men's Basketball are on sale now! The RedHawks open the season on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at Millett Hall, hosting Old Dominion as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge. The homestand continues with a women's/men's hoops doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 7, as the Miami women host Cedarville at 5 p.m. and the RedHawk men welcome Trinity Christian (Ill.) at approximately 7:30 p.m.

'He's a Mismatch': The Almar Atlason Story

Players Mentioned

Almar Atlason

Brant Byers

Eian Elmer

Antwone Woolfolk

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