Eric Hester, the first player to commit to Florida Gators head coach Mike White, has decided to transfer. The freshman from Clearwater appeared in 20 games for the Gators, averaging 5.6 minutes per game. Hester appeared in only two of the Gators last nine games.
It was a tough task for Hester to find minutes behind Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza. However, Hester proved that he had potential in his limited action for Florida. We saw glimpses of his potential through his ability to defend and knock down the deep ball. In the 106-71 victory over LSU on January 25th, Hester went 5-5 from behind the arc and had 16 points.
Hester was the first high school prospect to commit during the Mike White era. The Oldsmar Christian graduate was a highly sought after recruit that many teams were trying to land. Hester was expected to see his role increase with Hill and Barry graduating.
The departure of Hester allows committed point guard Michael Okauru to go ahead and sign his letter of intent. Okauru has been committed to the Gators since December. Due to Hester leaving, Okauru could see the opportunity to help out the Gators early on.
The decisions of Devin Robinson and John Egbunu will determine how the rest of the roster shapes up during the off season. Both Robinson and Egbunu are determining the next move in their careers.
Florida looks to be in the mix for some of the top grad transfer targets: Rice transfer Egor Koulechov and Pittsburgh transfer Cam Johnson. The Gators will host Koulechov this weekend for a visit.