Eric Hester Transferring

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Eric Hester was the first player to commit to the University of Florida under coach Mike White.

Now, he's the first to leave.

Hester, the 6-foot-3, 167-pound freshman guard from Clearwater, is exploring transfer options and will leave the UF program following the end of the spring semester in two weeks. Hester played sparingly during his rookie season, taking part in 20 games and averaging 2.2 points. In the team's final 13 games, the most he played was three minutes to go with seven DNPs.

"We wish him the best," Florida coach Mike White said.

Out of Tampa Oldsmar Christian, Hester was given a four-star ranking by several recruiting services. White and UF's then-new coaching staff liked his 6-10 wingspan and ability to defend, while projecting his offense as developmental. He and Oldsmar teammate Dontay Bassett, a power forward, made up White's first fall signing class.

Hester got some spot duty over the course of the season — a few minutes here, a few more there — but had his one shining moment in Florida's 106-71 blowout victory at LSU. In that one, Hester came off the bench to play 17 minutes and went 5-for-5 from the 3-point line on his way to a career-high 16 points, the most 3-pointers by a UF freshman without a miss in 15 years. He also helped the Gators set a single-game program record with 19 makes from distance.

After that game, Hester found the court more frequently — he hit a big first-half 3-pointer in the Gators' win over Kentucky and for the year actually went 11-for-19 from the arc (57.9 percent) — but his playing time lessoned following the season-ending injury to center John Egbunu on Feb. 14 as the Gators opted to play their three-guard lineup of Kasey Hill, KeVaughn Allen and Chris Chiozza more often.

Under NCAA rules, Hester will have to sit out the 2017-18 season if he chooses a Division I program and would be eligible to play in '18-19.

Hester's exit means the Gators, for now, can sign at least one prospect for next season, although more attrition to the roster could follow.

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Dontay Bassett

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Eric Hester

Kasey Hill

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