Friday, April 17, 2009

Mills Leaving; Williams, Tyus Transferring

Saint Mary's sophomore guard Patty Mills has announced that he will enter the NBA Draft, but will not hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning to the Gaels for his junior season. "It's a win-win situation for me," Mills said. "If I don't get all the feedback that I want or need, I come back for my third year." The six-foot Mills was one of the best point guards in the nation before suffering a broken hand in late January, forcing him to miss five weeks and the likely cause for Saint Mary's being left out of the NCAA Tournament. He is projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick by most mock drafts. Mills averaged 18.4 points and 3.9 assists per game last season.

Florida's Tyus Leaves Gators

Yet another Florida basketball player is leaving the team. Following the transfer of Allan Chaney, the decommitment of DeShawn Painter and the potential early-entry of Nick Calathes, sophomore forward Alex Tyus has announced he is transferring. "Coach [Billy] Donovan and I had a chance to talk about my future and we agreed on the best course of action," Tyus said. "I want to thank my coaches, my teammates and the fans here at Florida. I enjoyed my two years here and now I look forward to the next chapter of my life." Donovan didn't seem overly enamored with Tyus' attitude towards coaching. "He wants to do things for himself that are decisions he's got to make on his own with what he wants," Donovan said. "For me as a coach, you know there's a certain vision and a certain path and a certain commitment for the team going forward that you want to have. For Alex, that's not really what he wanted to do." Tyus averaged 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season.

Nick Williams Transferring from Indiana

Indiana freshman guard Nick Williams announced that he will be leaving the Hoosiers and transferring to a different school. "After the season, Nick expressed displeasure with his role this year and also shared concern with members of our coaching staff about his future role in the program,'' head coach Tom Crean said in a release. "He is a fine young man, and we have enjoyed our relationship with him over time. He played hard and did some very good things for us, and we wish him the best.'' The Hoosiers have six new players coming into the program next season. Williams is the third player to announce his departure, following Malik Story and walk-on Broderick Lewis. He averaged 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season, starting 29 contests.

Other News and Notes

- According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com and SNY.tv, uncommitted high school senior Sherrod Wright has verbally committed to George Mason. The 6-4 senior from Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) chose the Patriots over Kansas State, Central Florida and South Carolina. When I spoke to Wright last summer, he said he was looking for a program that likes to play up-and-down and at a fast pace.

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