September 10, 2009

Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Basketball Staff Writer

What started out as a permanent exit materialized into nothing more than a brief summer vacation.

Now that Alex Tyus has changed his mind about transferring from Florida, he feels as if he's home again.

He's back at the school where he feels he belongs.

And he's returning to the position where he feels he belongs.

"I'm excited I was able to come back," the 6-foot-8 junior forward said. "I feel good about my situation and my decision."

That wasn't always the case.

Although Tyus led the Gators with 6.2 rebounds per game and ranked second on the team with 12.5 points per game last year, he spent most of the season playing out of position at center.

Tyus announced after the season that he planned to transfer, only to change his mind about 10 days later.

"It was a matter of knowing what you lost once you didn't have it," Tyus said.

Tyus didn't want to go through the recruiting process all over again. He also didn't want to leave his teammates behind. Tyus eventually realized he would be better off staying at Florida rather than entering an unfamiliar situation at the midway point of his college career.

"I know everybody in the organization," Tyus said. "I know everybody's good people. They're here for my best interests. Second of all, I just knew all my teammates. They're friends and brothers to me. I really didn't want to leave them and start all over."

Tyus had discussed his situation with Mark Metzka, who coached him at Harmony Community School in Cincinnati. When they talked things over, Tyus understood he didn't really have any specific problems with Florida's program. He merely was worried about his role.

He didn't feel particularly comfortable playing center and trying to match up against much taller players.

"That was 100 percent the issue," Metzka said. "I don't think it was necessarily a personality conflict. Alex is a pretty easygoing kid and a coachable kid. He just had some frustrations with how they were using him. To be fair to Florida, I don't think they wanted to use him (at center). It was kind of a 'we don't have a choice' type of thing. He was stuck with his back to the basket. Not being able to face up, his game was kind of deteriorating a little bit because we had used him as a face-up player."

That ought to change this season.

The arrival of Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin should allow Tyus to move back to power forward. Macklin, a former top-40 recruit from Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy, averaged 12.8 minutes per game for Georgetown two years ago before heading to Florida. His 6-10 build should make him a natural fit to play center.

Florida also is anticipating greater contributions from 6-10 big man Kenny Kadji, who played 12.5 minutes per game as a freshman last season. The addition of Macklin and the expected emergence of Kadji should allow Tyus to spend more time playing power forward.

After spending much of last season in unfavorable matchups with bigger centers, Tyus said he believes he can spend this season causing matchup problems for opposing forwards.

"I feel like against a bigger four or a slower four, I'm more athletic and I'll be able to take them off the dribble more," Tyus said. "And if I'm playing against a guy more my size or smaller, I'll be able to shoot over them and rebound over them. I feel I have some advantages going both ways."

Metzka said he believes the new role should allow Tyus to display some talents that Florida fans haven't seen from him thus far.

For example, Tyus hasn't been much of a perimeter shooter for most of his Florida career, but he should utilize that aspect of his game now that he's moved back to forward.

"The one thing I think he'll surprise everybody with is his ability to shoot the basketball," Metzka said. "The year we used him, he was as good a perimeter shooter from 16-19 feet that we had. He was a consistent knockdown shooter as a catch-and-shoot [player]. I don't think he's really shown that a lot [at Florida], and when he has done that, he hasn't looked that great. You could tell he hasn't spent time doing that. But he can shoot the basketball. And he's a better free-throw shooter than he's shown, too. He will bring that part of his game up to where he belongs, too, just from repetitions."

Tyus isn't the only Gators player with the ability to play multiple positions. Macklin can play power forward or center. Chandler Parsons can contribute on the frontcourt and backcourt. Erving Walker and freshman Kenny Boynton can play either guard spot, while Dan Werner could play power forward or small forward.

The Gators are counting on that versatility to make up for their lack of backcourt depth following the early departure of star guard Nick Calathes. Even without a wealth of talent in the backcourt, Tyus said he believes Florida has a chance to challenge for an NCAA tournament bid after settling for NIT invitations the past two years.

Tyus expected those NCAA tournament bids to become an annual occurrence when he joined a Florida program that had just won back-to-back national titles. Tyus instead is part of a nucleus that has struggled to build its identity.

"It's been very surprising to us," Tyus said. "We really didn't know what it took. We really didn't understand what it took to get to that level. Now some of our guys are older and more experienced. We're excited about starting the season."

Tyus is more excited than ever to play alongside his teammates now that he realizes what he almost left behind.

Big man, big comeback?

Remember Kenny George?

George captured the attention of the college basketball world two seasons ago when the 7-foot-9 center's shot-blocking presence helped UNC Asheville go 23-10, but he hasn't played since because of health problems. In the summer of 2008, George developed a staph infection that required part of his right foot to be amputated.

Now he may be returning to college basketball in a different role.

"I've offered him a job as a volunteer student coach, and he wants to come back," UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach told The Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times last week. "It's up to the doctors."

George has been living in his hometown of Chicago since spending three months in the hospital in the fall of 2008.

Night of stars at UNC

North Carolina's festivities last weekend to tip off its 100th season of basketball lent credence to the Tar Heels' reputation as one of the nation's most storied programs. What other schools could attract so much star power for an alumni game?

The White team that won 113-92 included Raymond Felton, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, Brendan Haywood, Antawn Jamison, Jackie Manuel, Jeff McInnis, Jerry Stackhouse, Marvin Williams. The Blue team had Dante Calabria, Vince Carter, Ed Cota, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Sean May, Rashad McCants, Jawad Williams, Shammond Williams and Brandan Wright.

A sellout crowd of 21,750 packed the Smith Center to watch the game on the eve of the North Carolina football team's season opener. In attendance were current coach Roy Williams, former coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge, Denver Nuggets coach George Karl and soon-to-be Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Michael Jordan.

"In my opinion, there's no place in the country that could have done what we just did," Roy Williams said afterward.

Tip-ins

Samford is holding a memorial service Thursday night in honor of senior forward Jim Griffin, who was found dead Tuesday morning in a residential village on campus. An official cause of death hasn't been released, but Samford coach Jimmy Tillette indicated Griffin died of an undetected heart condition. Griffin, a senior sociology major from Chicago, averaged 18.3 minutes and 2.8 points per game last season.

Pittsburgh forward Gilbert Brown has been suspended from the team for the fall semester because of academic concerns. Brown averaged 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season. He was expected to replace the departed Sam Young as Pittsburgh's starting small forward.

Darryl LaBarrie, a three-year letterwinner at Georgia Tech who played for both Bobby Cremins and Paul Hewitt, is returning to his alma mater as an assistant on Hewitt's staff. LaBarrie spent the past two years as an East Carolina assistant working primarily with the Pirates' perimeter players.

Iowa State guard Lucca Staiger is playing for the German National Team at the European Basketball Championships this month in Poland. Staiger posted a team-high 13.4 points per game for the German under-20 national team at the World University Games earlier this summer.

The Central Michigan practice facility currently under construction will be named after former coach Dick Parfitt, who led the Chippewas to three Mid-American Conference titles in the 1970s. A group of Parfitt's former players raised the $500,000 required to gain the facility's naming rights.

Syracuse guard Andy Rautins averaged 9.5 points per game to tie for second on his team while helping Team Canada place fourth in the FIBA Americas Tournament in Puerto Rico. The fourth-place finish allowed Canada to clinch a spot in the 2010 World Championships. Team Canada was coached by Rautins' father, Leo Rautins, a member of Syracuse's all-century team.

Steve Megargee is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at smegargee@rivals.com.