OPINION

By Mike DeCourcy

updated 6:51 p.m. ET May 5, 2009

Mike DeCourcy

The stories announcing Alex Tyus' decision to transfer from Florida all called him a forward. That's how he is listed on the official Gators roster, as well. If it were that simple, though, there never would have been any stories about him transferring, or any need to rearrange the roster now that he's back.

The truth: Alex Tyus is a center.

No, make that: Alex Tyus was a center.

And if everything goes just right for him next season with the Gators, that will remain a past-tense statement.

Tyus is present tense at Florida again, after a tense few weeks when he looked into whether his college career would develop better elsewhere. Ultimately, he decided he'd play his junior year with the Gators and was welcomed back by his coach.

"There's a vision or a plan of how you see the guy fitting into your program," Billy Donovan said. "When we signed Alex, I don't think we ever looked at him being a center."

Tyus played there as a freshman to free Marreese Speights to be more productive as a forward. And he played there as a sophomore because Speights was gone to the NBA and freshmen Kenny Kadji and Allan Chaney were either not ready for serious minutes, or injured, or both. Tyus averaged 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. He did not attempt a single 3-point shot, because centers rarely shoot from there.

And when Tyus met with Donovan after the season to see if he would continue to be a center in the future, the answer was not precisely what he wanted to hear.

"Whether it was anybody in his ear or not, I don't know," Donovan said. "The kid's always been very respectful for me.

"I said, 'Listen, you probably don't want to hear this, but if Vernon Macklin and Kenny Kadji break their legs, you're going to play the 5 again for us.' "

Special feature Testing NBA draft waters Notre Dame's Luke Harangody is among players who should go back to school, but who should stay in the draft? NBCSports.com

Tyus became the third player in seven months to announce a transfer from Florida. With star Nick Calathes also departing, at least temporarily, to take a shot at the NBA draft, it appeared from the outside that something was amiss in the Gators' program. When the crew is manning the lifeboats, no one figures they're just out fishing.

Donovan said he was not overly concerned about that perception because he knows the individual circumstances. Much like Tyus, Jai Lucas did not perceive a future with the Gators at his preferred position, point guard, and decided to leave as Calathes' hold on that spot became more firm. Chaney left after getting less than 10 minutes per game.

"I don't ever want to see anybody leave our program," Donovan said. "Sometimes these guys have an opinion, a thought process, of what they need to be to get to where they want to go. Guys used to leave based on, 'I'm not playing a lot.' "

Tyus played 26 minutes per game as a sophomore. That was not the issue at all. But, at 6-8, he is not built to be a center, and his game is not built for it. He might not be a jump shooter, but in order to develop some perimeter skills, he would need to spend some time on the perimeter.

A transfer from Georgetown, Macklin is the player the Gators expect will give them an inside presence in 2009-10. SEC opponents beat them up on the boards by nearly three rebounds per game last season. Tyus was all alone against some quality big men: Vanderbilt's A.J. Ogilvy, Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado, Alabama's JaMychal Green.

"I think there are things Alex can do that he maybe wasn't getting a chance to do because of the way we were forced to utilize him," Donovan said. "After we gave him his release, we talked and were able to get into the whole thing, lay it out on the table. I didn't make any promises. I told him he'd play the best position to help the team.

Slideshow   Week in Sports Pictures The Saints triumph in the Super Bowl, Olympians work on final preparations for Vancouver, and more. more photos

"He's such a nice kid. He left me a message on my voicemail, said, 'Coach I'd really like to come back, and I hope you'll have me back.' "

Tyus' frustration is understandable. It's one thing to make personal sacrifices for a greater goal, but when that goal isn't reached, the sacrifices seem less worthwhile. Florida's various problems in rebuilding from the consecutive championship teams of 2006 and 2007 -- youth, lack of size, moderate athleticism -- led to ending the past two seasons in the NIT.

Most important, though, Florida cannot afford to retreat into the atmosphere of self-interest that undermined the Gators before Al Horford, Joakim Noah and friends washed it away. In that sense, Tyus' return could represent a significant advance. He came back without any guarantee his circumstances would change, with only good reason to expect it will.

He is a Gator again, and moving forward.

Also on NBCSports.com Rosenthal: Saints win with aggressive ‘ambush’ Trash Talk: How will Manning rebound from loss? NBA: ProBasketballTalk is here! Check out new blog NCAA BK: Who's in, who's out? Updated bracket projections Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

MORE FROM COLLEGE BASKETBALL

College basketball Section Front

No. 6 Purdue pops Michigan State Illinois deals No. 11 Wisconsin rare home loss Cousins, Wall carry No. 3 Kentucky No. 22 Vanderbilt routs No. 12 Tennessee Beyond the Arc: Why Duke-UNC could be classic Mailbag: Heels’ talent not enough to save its season Spotlight returns to Tobacco Road rivalry   Vote: Will North Carolina make the NCAA tourney? Special report: College hoops’ best rivalries Beyond the Arc: The worst free throw — ever College basketball Section Front   Add College basketball headlines to your news reader: