Florida Gators guard Braxton Ogbueze informed the team that he had decided to transfer and was granted his release from the school on Wedesday.
Gators head coach Billy Donovan announced in a press release that Ogbueze, who averaged 4.7 minutes per game during his true freshman season last year, will no longer with the program going forward.
“Braxton has been a hard worker with a great attitude, and we wish him nothing but the best as he moves on,” Donovan said.
“I’ve appreciated the opportunity here at Florida and have learned a lot that will help me in the future,” Ogbueze said in the same release.
The player’s family had been murmuring about a transfer when Ogbueze failed to see significant court time during the 2012-13 season. With UF adding Rutgers transfer guard Eli Carter to the fold on Tuesday, Ogbueze obviously felt that he would have a better chance to succeed elsewhere.
A four-star prospect in 2012 and the No. 78 overall recruit in the country according to Rivals, Ogbueze originally chose Florida over Baylor. He committed on March 9, 2011.
The Gators now have an open scholarship for the 2013-14 season though it is unlikely to be filled over the summer. Carter will file a waiver with the NCAA to skip his redshirt transfer season and be eligible to play immediately for Florida.
Ogbueze is the second true Gators transfer (Walter Pitchford) since Florida lost four members of its 2008 recruiting class (Allan Chaney, Kenny Kadji, Ray Shipman, Eloy Vargas). Cody Larson gave up basketball before the 2012-13 season and Nimrod Tishman, after joining UF for the 2009-10 campaign, moved back to Israel.
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