San Francisco guard Jamaree Bouyea signs with Miami Heat Summer League team
San Francisco Dons guard Jamaree Bouyea signed with the Miami Heat summer league team as an undrafted free agent on Thursday.
He spent five seasons with the Dons and former USF and current Florida Gators men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden.
In his final season with the Dons, Bouyea led the Dons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998 with a 24-10 record. He averaged a team-high 17.3 points, four assists and 1.8 steals.
Bouyea was one of Golden’s players at San Francisco who used his extra season of eligibility due to COVID-19 to his benefit.
Golden was able to use Bouyea as an example for UF forward Colin Castleton in attempt to bring the 6-foot-11 forward back to Gainesville for his fifth and final season of eligibility.
“Colin’s a guy that I’ve spent a lot of time with in the past couple days and trying to work to see if he has the desire to come back and use his extra year,” Golden said after his introductory press conference. “The great thing is I have a great test case for him from my time at San Francisco because [Jamaree Bouyea], this past year, was a guy that took advantage. He used his fifth COVID year, ended up having 36 points in the first game of the NCAA Tournament and will get drafted now. So, it’s something that I can just really easily explain to Colin and paint a picture of, and he was intrigued by it, so I’m hopeful that those conversations go the right way.”
Of course, those conversations did go in Golden’s favor, and Castleton made the decision to stay at Florida for his final season of eligibility on April 11.
The implications of Bouyea’s signing for Golden and UF
It’s no secret that Golden will be working with players of higher caliber at Florida than he did during his stint with San Francisco.
Golden will surely be able to use Bouyea’s undrafted free agent signing on the recruiting trail as he’s now after some of the nation’s top prospects.
Golden said following his introductory press conference on March 23 that he would be looking to recruit prospects with Florida’s many players who have made a name for themselves in the NBA.
Now, he can show high school prospects what he’s done with a former player in Bouyea at San Francisco, who now has an opportunity to shine at the next level.
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
