Gators add Rutgers Transfer

Billy Donovan and the men’s basketball team got some good news today when former Rutgers guard Eli Carter announced on Twitter that he is transferring to Florida.

Rutgers basketball came into the national spotlight last season when former head coach Mike Rice was caught on camera abusing players both physically and verbally. Rice was seen on tape throwing basketballs at his players, shoving them and calling them things and names that I dare not put in print.

Following the release of Rice from his coaching duties, a number of players informed the university that they would be leaving the team. Carter, the Scarlett Knights leading scorer last season, was one of those players.

Carter visited the University of Florida last week and following his trip to Gainesville canceled his other recruiting visits. He had seen and heard all that he needed to see and hear. Florida was the place for him.

Carter is a shoot-first guard who at times can shoot too much. Some of that comes from playing on a losing team and feeling the need to put the team on your back and win games by yourself. Carter shot 41 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc as a freshman but saw those numbers dip to 38 percent and 32 percent, respectively, as a sophomore.

However, with the way that the Gators basketball team is shaping up for 2013, Carter won’t have to chuck up shots from all over the court like he did last year at Rutgers.

Notice I said 2013, not 2014. The NCAA has a rule that stipulates a player who transfers from one division one school to another one must sit out a season. Carter has applied for a waiver, based on the aforementioned extenuating circumstances at Rutgers last season, and it is possible that he will be able to play in 2013.

Florida was already looking like a front-runner heading into 2013, as they will enjoy two other transfers, Dorian Finney-Smith and Damontre Harris, to add to Scottie Wilbekin, Pat Young, Michael Frazier, Will Yeguette, Chris Walker, Kasey Hill and Casey Prather. But if Carter can in fact win his appeal with the NCAA, the Gators would instantly become national title contenders.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC