Iceland's Palsson gives Jaguars an outside threat
By Nolan Turner | Sports writer
As the Augusta University men’s basketball team is getting closer to tipping off the 2025-26 season, who will provide the scoring after the Jaguars lost three pivotal offensive players in Demitri Gardner, Max Amadasun and John St. Germain”
One of the players who will fill the void is Elías Pálsson, a sharpshooter from outside who also plays with a high level of intensity—like an Icelandic volcano.
You see, Pálsson is a sophomore, standing at 6-foot-7, who was born and raised in a small town in Iceland called Njarovik.
Pálsson mentions that things are different here in the United States when compared to Iceland.
“First thing is everything here is so far away; you always have to drive places here,” he said. “In Iceland, you can walk to everything. The second thing that is different here is that people are so nice. Anytime I walk by someone, they usually say ‘What’s up?’ or “Hello,’ but back home they are rude and don’t care to talk to you.”
Pálsson began his love for basketball at 5 years old. His father, Páll Kristinsson, and his brother, Kristinn Pálsson, both played basketball in college in the United States. Páll Kristinsson played at USC Upstate and for the Icelandic national team; Kristinn Palsson played at Marist and currently is a member of the Icelandic national team.
In his early years of high school, Elías Pálsson thought he might get the chance to play basketball in college. At the same time, he began helping teach special education back home in Iceland. But he decided to put teaching on hold so that he could try to go play college basketball.
That’s when AU Coach Dip Metress came calling.
Now Pálsson says he is blessed to have the opportunity to play at AU.
“Last year, stat-wise I played all right,” he said. “I honestly don’t care about my stats because that doesn’t dictate the wins and losses. I only care about my team winning.”
Pálsson is very selfless on the court. He just wants his team to win whether he has a good or bad game.
The Icelandic guard said he is glad he signed to play with Metress—that he wouldn’t want to play for anyone else.
“If he is hard on you, that’s just because he cares about you,” Pálsson said. “Coach Metress has a way of showing the guys love, and it is by being hard on them to make them the best version of themselves.”
The shooting guard says he is very excited for the upcoming season; however, the biggest thing for the team is to keep everyone healthy. The men’s basketball team has struggled with some injuries thus far in preseason workouts, including Pálsson.
“Elías’s goals should be to continue to improve on the defensive end and limit his turnovers so he can play big minutes for us this year,” Metress said. “When healthy we feel that Elias has the ability to take and make big shots in the last part of games when the score is tight .”
Pálsson is going to be a key player to keep up with this season, as he is one of the Jags’ best 3-point shooters. He looks forward to helping AU gain a Peach Belt Conference championship and earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
The Jaguars open the season on Nov. 1 against Washburn University in Lakeland, Fla.
Contact Nolan Turner at noturner@augusta.edu.
Elias Palsson (8) averaged 7.4 points per game as a freshman, playing nearly 20 minutes per game. He will have to pick up the scoring load after the top three scorers from the 2024-25 team have moved on. At the top of the page, Palsson drives to the hoop, trying to draw the foul. (photos by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)
