Florida's Alex Tyus has until Saturday to decide to jump in the NBA Draft pool or come back to school. One reason why Tyus could leave is that he wants to be a small forward. Seriously.
Thomas Tyus, Alex's father, told the Sentinel that his son should forgo school after being under-utilized by a Florida program that insists on playing him at the power forward and center spots. He said Tyus is a natural small forward.
Anyone who has played sports has had to play out of position sometimes. But this seems a little disingenuous to me. Tyus wanted to leave last season because he didn't want to play center. Now he wants to leave because he doesn't want to play power forward? I have nothing against a kid testing the waters, especially without an agent, but Tyus comes across as a little boy who wants to take his ball and go home.
Tyus's fiancee also told the Orlando Sentinel that Tyus wanted to play the 3 in the NBA, despite not playing that position in college. (By the way, Tyus does not appear on most draft boards.) Apparently, Tyus seems to think that NBA guys will put you where you want. Just like in college, Tyus will not have the opportunity to pick where he plays. In Florida's case, the Gators have 6-foot-10 Vernon Macklin and a few guys (Chandler Parsons, Tyus, Dan Werner) who could play either power or small forward. Also, Tyus forgets that he does not have the shooting range of a small forward.
If Tyus wants to go to the pros, he should go. But leaving because you think the NBA will let you play where you want is stupid.