Florida's Alex Tyus to Transfer

In a big blow to the Gators, sophomore center Alex Tyus announced his intention to transfer today.

Tyus released a statement saying, “Coach (Billy) Donovan and I had a chance to talk about my future and we agreed on the best course of action.  I want to thank my coaches, my teammates and the fans here at Florida. I enjoyed my two years here and now I look forward to the next chapter of my life.”

Donovan weighed in on the issue by saying, “Sometimes for guys, they want something different. For Alex, I’ve enjoyed coaching him the past two years but at the same point I think he wants to do things for himself that are decisions he has to make on his own. For me as a coach you know there’s a certain vision, a certain path for the team going forward and I think for Alex, that’s not what he wanted to do.”

This seems to suggest that Tyus was not fitting into Donovan’s system, which is interesting because Tyus started all 36 games and was second on the team in points behind Nick Calathes. Whether Tyus felt he should be more of a focal point in the offense remains to be seen - but given his productivity its hard to believe Donovan would have wanted him to leave. The real reason for the departure may become a bit more clear when Tyus chooses a new school - perhaps one with a coach that focuses more on a post-oriented offense.

Regardless of the reason, the departure really hurts the Gators for next year, especially if Calathes decides to turn pro. The real question might be: is this a sign of a wider-spread problem within the Gator program? Tyus’s departure marks the 11th transfer since the 2003-04 season and comes shortly after freshman forward Allan Chaney also decided to transfer.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Daye/The Gainesville Sun

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