Rice transfer Koulechov commits to Florida
Florida has landed one of the most coveted graduate transfers on the market, as Rice wing Egor Koulechov announced Tuesday night that he has committed to the Gators men’s basketball team.
"This is an exciting move, it's been tough but it feels right," Koulechov told Rivals.com. "I trust the coaching staff in Florida and excited to start my time here. Thank you to everyone who recruited me and showed interest."
Koulechov has spent the past three seasons at Rice, finishing second in points per game in each of the past two years. As a freshman in 2013-14, Koulechov played for Arizona State but transferred after just one season with the Sun Devils.
After averaging 16.7 points per game for the Owls in 2015-16, this past season Koulechov recorded 18.2 points on 47.3% shooting (47.4% from downtown), 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals in 34.3 minutes per game. He also shot 81.9% from the free throw line. In the past two years, Koulechov has made 161 threes on a combined 405 attempts (44.5%).
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Koulechov, who is from Volgograd, Russia, grew up in Israel from the age of seven and has spent recent summers playing for the Israeli national team. Koulechov played high school basketball for The Sagemont School in Weston, Florida, under head coach Adam Ross.
"Adam was my No. 1 guy in this, throughout the whole process," Koulechov said. "We spoke multiple times every day and he guided me through this. I can't describe in words how much I appreciate him."
He fills a huge need for the Gators men’s basketball team on the wing, after seeing Devin Robinson declare early for the draft and Canyon Barry graduate. Florida would now meet the 13 scholarship limit, barring any unforeseen changes, if center John Egbunu opts to return to school for one more year. If Egbunu leaves, the Gators would have room to add one more scholarship player.
Rivals basketball recruiting analyst Corey Evans ranked Koulechov as the fifth-best transfer on the current market this offseason. Pittsburgh transfer Cameron Johnson, Evans’ No. 2 transfer on the market, hosted Mike White on Sunday night for an in-home visit.
Rivals.com basketball recruiting analyst Russ Wood contributed to this report.
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