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florida basketball guard Tyree Appleby will use his extra year of eligibility and remain in college for one more year, he told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. Appleby said he doesn’t know where he will play. Florida just underwent a coaching change, as Mike White left for Georgia, with the Gators hiring Todd Golden away from San Francisco to take over for him.
Across 34 games during the 2021-22 season, Appleby averaged 10.9 points on 36.7% shooting to go along with 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals. In his two seasons with the Gators after transferring from Cleveland State and sitting out the 2019-20 season, Appleby has averaged 11.1 points and 3.5 assists on 38.9% shooting.
“I haven’t made any decisions right now,” Appleby said ahead of Senior Day. “Just taking it one day at a time right now. I’m not thinking that far ahead.”
Out of Jacksonville (Ark.) High, Appleby was not rated as a recruit and committed to Cleveland State. In two seasons from 2017-19, he averaged 14.5 points across 63 games on 43.1% shooting.
As for Florida, Golden is excited to take over. He joined the ESPN broadcast of their NIT matchup last Sunday.
“You know what, it was a wild week and one that I’ll never forget, obviously,” Golden said. “Really proud of the season that we had at San Francisco and kind of getting that program back on the map and getting back to the tournament, some place that it hadn’t been in a long time. And obviously when you have success at a place where it’s not normally going on, you get a little bit of interest. And I’m just incredibly fortunate and thrilled that Scott Stricklin and his staff felt comfortable with me, and I’m just pleased to be the guy.”
Golden said Florida has the potential to be special.
“I think it’s one of the best jobs in America,” Golden said. “And I think it’s a place where you can perennially play and compete for national championships. It’s one of the—(it’s) the best school in Florida. And it’s a place where there’s a ton of great players and a ton of great tradition, history. As you mentioned before we got together, coaches like Lon Kruger and Billy Donovan, guys that I have an incredible amount of respect for, and when Coach Donovan was winning national championships. It’s a place where you can do that if you get the right people on board. So as I said, when this opportunity came about, I jumped at it as fast as possible.”
Golden was asked about Florida’s ability to tap into the transfer portal to get some much-needed, immediate upgrades.
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“Yeah it’s a great point,” Golden said. “I think the game of college basketball has changed more in the last two years than it had in the previous 20. The transfer portal, whether people like it or not, is just a very important part of our profession now and in our business and as you mentioned, building rosters. And so I’m going to do my best to keep the guys within the program on board and get them to continue building stronger as we move forward, but there are going to be some additions through the portal and there’s going to be some guys that are really excited to come play at Florida.
Kevin Flaherty contributed to this report.
