Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel commits to Florida Gators
The Florida Gators have landed another big basketball transfer.
This time, it’s Seton Hall center Tyrese Samuel. The strong inside player has committed to Florida; he made the announcement Sunday night via his Instagram (@tyrese5g).
Samuel is listed at 6-foot-11 and 235 pounds. He could play center and/or power-forward.
Samuel spent four years with the Pirates and is coming off by far his best season. During the 2022-23 campaign he averaged 11 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. He made 55 percent of his field goal attempts.
Samuel, who entered the transfer portal in March, officially visited the Gators this weekend.
Per the Asbury Park Press (N.J.), “The 6-foot-10 senior was the Hall’s most consistent player throughout a roller-coaster 17-16 campaign that ended with a first-round loss in the NIT. Tasked with playing the post due to a roster shortage of bigs even though he’s more of a natural power forward, Samuel averaged 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field. He improved vastly on the defensive end and, as the lone four-year Pirate, served as an articulate team spokesman in the media.”
The paper also noted, “Seton Hall basketball coach Shaheen Holloway made it abundantly clear he wanted frontcourt standout Tyrese Samuel to stay in South Orange for his fifth season of eligibility.”
“He improved a lot,” Holloway told reporters during the season, the Press wrote. “The first meeting I had with him he said, ‘Coach, I’m not a five.’ I said, ‘Rese, for this team to be successful, I think you have to play that position’…I thought Rese embraced it and he had a good year. He didn’t miss one practice, he didn’t miss one game the whole year, and that stands for something.”
Samuel is Florida’s fourth transfer addition this offseason as the Gators have hit the portal hard while Coach Todd Golden looks to rebuild the roster.
The other transfer additions are point guard Walter Clayton Jr. of Iona, power-forward EJ Jarvis of Yale and center Micah Handlogten of Marshall.
Samuel recorded five double-doubles last season, and had a season-high of 19 points. He reached double-figures in scoring 20 times.
