A year after testing the transfer waters, Alex Tyus is evaluating his NBA Draft options.
Tyus, the 6-foot-8 power forward who announced and reversed his decision to transfer last offseason, told the Gainesville Sun on Wednesday that he will submit his name into the NBA Draft but will not hire an agent.
UF spokesman Fred Demarest said Tyus has not filed the draft paperwork yet, but he likely will in the near future.
“Mainly, I just want to see where I stand,” Tyus told the Sun on Wednesday. “I want to go through the process, getting a chance to meet some teams, working out against other players, trying to get better.”
As a junior, Tyus averaged 11.8 points and tied for a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game, shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 68.3 percent from the free-throw line.
ESPN’s Chad Ford currently doesn’t have Tyus rated as a 2010 NBA Draft prospect. The only two UF players Ford has listed are freshman guard Kenny Boynton (No. 101) and redshirt junior center Vernon Macklin (No. 208).
He is the third Florida player to enter his name into the NBA Draft without hiring an agent. The other two, Marreese Speights and Nick Calathes, left the Gators for pro careers after their sophomore seasons, though Calathes opted for Greece instead of the NBA.
Tyus can start working out for NBA teams on April 25, but he can’t miss class during workouts and must decide whether he’ll return to school by May 8. He told the Sun he won’t leave early unless he’s projected as a first-round pick.
The Sun’s report that Tyus will test the draft waters runs contrary to what UF coach Billy Donovan said Wednesday afternoon. He indicated that Ray Shipman would be the only player to leave the program this offseason and said he expected Tyus to join Macklin and forward Chandler Parsons as a part of the Gators’ all-senior frontcourt.
“I don’t anticipate anyone being in a situation where they’re looking to make a change,” Donovan said.
Even if Tyus leaves, UF’s frontcourt should still be the team’s strength in the 2010-11 season. Macklin, Parsons and Erik Murphy return from last year’s eight-man rotation, Kenny Kadji and Adam Allen should be returning from injuries, and Donovan spoke highly of incoming 6-foot-8 forward Patric Young.
“He is a very physical, high-energy, likes-contact guy,” Donovan said of Young. “The last couple years, when we lost (Joakim) Noah, (Al) Horford and even Chris Richard, we haven’t really had that kind of physicality in our frontcourt.”
DONOVAN TO RECEIVE WOODEN AWARD: Donovan will be honored with the John R. Wooden Award’s “Legends of Coaching Award” on Friday night at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
“I think it’s a great honor. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys that are deserving of the award,” he said. “Anything that’s affiliated with coach Wooden’s name is a big honor and a big deal.”
