By ADAM ZAGORIA
Florida beat out SEC rivals Kentucky and Tennessee for Virginia Tech graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear
“First of all I want to thank coach Buzz [Williams] and the amazing staff over these past four years,” he wrote on Instagram. “This team has become my family and I am so thankful for it. I also want to thank my Blacksburg family for taking a young kid from Orlando and showing him what home is.
“I am so fortunate to have stepped out onto the Cassell Coliseum floor [to] walk away from Blacksburg as a graduate of Virginia Tech.
“My next chapter will begin in Gainesville, Florida. #GoGators.”
The 6-foot-10 Blackshear tested the NBA Draft waters but opted to withdraw and transfer. He averaged 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the Hokies and started all 35 games. The points and rebounds per game and games played were all career-high marks for Blackshear Jr.
Blackshear joins an incoming group highlighted by Ranney (NJ) School wing Scottie Lewis, the projected No. 9 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, per ESPN.com.
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