Tyus enjoying new position

<p>For an afternoon, Florida junior Alex Tyus looked at home on the court again.</p><p> Finally at his natural position after two seasons playing as an undersized center, the 6-foot-8 Tyus displayed a well-rounded game in his starting debut at power forward Sunday against Stetson.</p><p> But a constant remained. Tyus, UF's leading rebounder last season at 6.2 per game, posted his sixth career double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds) against the Hatters.</p><p> Tyus will look to carry over that performance on the boards tonight when the Gators face Georgia Southern. Having 6-foot-10, 240-pound Vernon Macklin as UF's starting center has given the 220-pound Tyus more room to operate underneath the basket. Of Tyus' 13 rebounds, 10 came on the defensive boards.</p><p> "It's so much easier," Tyus said. "I'm really excited. When Vern is banging underneath the basket, it allows me to see the ball coming off the backboard a little better."</p><p> Florida associate coach Larry Shyatt said he's noticed Tyus' improved rebounding ability in practice.</p><p> "Alex has gotten a little bit stronger," Shyatt said. "That's allowing him to wrestle away and hold on to some of the balls that he let get away from him last season."</p><p> For Tyus, the biggest rebound of his career may have been his decision to return to Florida for his junior season. During a seven-day stretch last April, Tyus was in limbo after announcing his intentions to transfer from UF. It was a surprise, considering Tyus had started every game of his sophomore season.</p><p> But Tyus was wary about the possibility of playing center for the third straight season and being unable to showcase his perimeter skills.</p><p> "I can't say it was easy, banging all of the time in the SEC," Tyus said. "I think everybody was a little frustrated because we didn't make the (NCAA) Tournament and we wanted to do whatever we could to win here."</p><p> A change of heart came following a final meeting with Florida coach Billy Donovan and a plane trip back to his native St. Louis.</p><p> "You don't realize what you have until it's gone," Tyus said.</p><p> Donovan, who lost Jai Lucas (Texas) and Allan Chaney (Virginia Tech) to transfers during the 2008-09 season, said he wasn't shocked Tyus changed his mind.</p><p> "Everybody's career is so short, time is so short, if somebody is not happy or wants to move on, I totally understand," Donovan said. "But I would at least want them to move on with a clear understanding of what they would be missing out on."</p><p> Tyus went 6-for-8 from the floor against Stetson. His first basket came on a dunk off an offensive rebound and his second basket came on a 15-foot jumper from the right baseline. Tyus made another foul-line jumper in the second half.</p><p> "It's very exciting," Tyus said. "It's a lot different just playing away from the basket, handling the ball more, looking for guys for shots and defense, playing on top of the press."</p><p> Donovan said he's been pleased Tyus has developed into a better ball-handler and has a more consistent mid-range jump shooter. But Donovan said Tyus will need to provide physical play in the Southeastern Conference, when he matches up with power forwards like LSU's Tasmin Mitchell, Kentucky's Patrick Patterson, South Carolina's Dominique Archie and Tennessee's Tyler Smith.</p><p> "Sometimes guys can get wrapped up in position, but the thing he's going to have to do at that spot against maybe even some better players, he still has to bang, he still has to rebound," Donovan said. "He still has to do those things."</p><p>Contact Kevin Brockway at 352-374-5054 or at brockwk@gvillesun.com.</i></p>