Florida’s top recruit intends to seek release from letter of intent
In the past six weeks, Florida has lost its head coach to the NBA, its second-leading scorer to the draft and its third-leading scorer to a transfer.
Now the Gators may also have to wave goodbye to their top recruit too.
Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen, Rivals.com’s No. 67 prospect in the class of 2015, will seek a release from his letter of intent, his stepfather John Curry told Arkansas radio host Bo Mattingly on Tuesday. Curry said that Allen could still end up at Florida depending on who the Gators hire to replace Billy Donovan, but he also wants to consider other schools.
“I guess the best way to put it is he’s going to keep his options open,” Curry said.
“His whole draw to Florida, besides a beautiful university, [was] the coaches. And that goes for a lot of high school kids. They go to a coach, that’s who they go to.”
What could hurt Florida’s chances of retaining Allen is that athletic director Jeremy Foley appears to be taking his time making a new hire. Foley told reporters at his news conference Monday afternoon that his goal is to make the hire “sometime in June” so that the new coach is in place in time to recruit during the July evaluation period.
If Florida loses Allen, that would be a major blow to its chances of bouncing back quickly after missing the NCAA tournament last season. The high-scoring 6-foot-2 Arkansas native would likely have a chance to play immediately at wing with Michael Frazier declaring for the NBA draft and fellow starter Eli Carter opting to transfer.
Numerous schools will undoubtedly express interest in Allen if he gets his release from Florida, but in-state Arkansas could have the best chance to land him. Arizona, Baylor, UConn, Tennessee and Memphis were also among the programs initially involved in his recruitment.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
