Eli Carter intends to transfer
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The roster turnover continued for the Florida basketball team Monday with official word that combo guard Eli Carter intends to transfer to another school pending his graduation.
The 6-foot-2 Carter, a fourth-year junior out of Paterson, N.J., was UF's third-leading scorer last season at 8.8 points per game after shooting 36.2 percent from the floor and 30.5 from 3-point range.
“I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had here at Florida,” said Carter, who is on track to graduate with a degree in African American Studies, in a statement. “I'll always appreciate the coaches, teammates and fans that made my time here memorable.”
Injuries impacted much of Carter's two seasons with the Gators after he transferred to UF in 2013 from Rutgers, where he averaged 14.3 points over two seasons. At the time of his arrival, Carter was still recovering from a broken leg that ended his sophomore season with the Scarlet Knights. The injury did not heal properly and Carter was shut down after just 53 minutes over seven games in '13-14, and eventually was granted a medical redshirt year.
Back and healthier in 2014-15, Carter went 8-for-9 from the floor and scored 21 points against Miami in the second game of the season, but three days later sprained his foot during practice. The injury hampered Carter for the better part of the next six weeks, though he eventually settled into a starting spot and went on to eclipse 1,000 career points (1,049).
“We appreciate everything that Eli has done in his two years in Gainesville,” Coach Billy Donovan said in a statement. “We all wish him well and will do whatever we can to help him take this next step in his career.”
Carter is the third UF player from last season's 16-17 who won't return for 2015-16. Both junior guard Michael Frazier II, the team's second-leading scorer, and sophomore center Chris Walker placed their names in the underclassmen pool for the NBA Draft.
Florida now has eight players on its roster for next season -- the NCAA limit for men's basketball is 13 -- pending the arrival of next season's freshman class.
