The Gators basketball team picked up a 6-foot-5 sharp-shooting transfer from Rice on Tuesday.
Egor Koulechov, originally from Volgograd, Russia, told Scout.com that verbally committed to UF after choosing between Florida and Oklahoma.
“I have a lot of faith in the staff at Florida,” Koulechov told Scout’s Evan Daniels. “I really do. It's a good team. They have high aspirations. I went to high school in south Florida. It just feels right.”
Koulechov attended The Sagemont School in Weston, Florida, and he grew up in Israel, playing with the U-18 Israeli National Team.
Last season at Rice, Koulechov averaged 18.2 points per game, more than any Gators player, while shooting 47.4 percent from three-point range.
Since he’s a graduate transfer, he won’t have to sit out a season due to NCAA transfer rules. Koulechov will be able to contend for a starting spot right away with the expected departure of junior forward Devin Robinson, who announced his draft intentions on Friday.
"They are losing pieces from their Elite Eight run," he said of the Gators. "I can bring toughness. I play hard.”
Follow Matt Brannon on Twitter at @MattB_727, or contact him at mbrannon@alligator.org.
Egor Koulechov announced his intentions to transfer to Florida from Rice, he told Scout.com on Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
