Transfer F Sam Alexis to Alleviate Gators' Rebounding Losses

After losing Tyrese Samuel (graduation) and Micah Handlogten (injury) for the upcoming season, the Florida Gators will turn to a slew of transfers, including former Chattanooga forward Sam Alexis, to alleviate the losses.

Florida Gators forward Sam Alexis (4) shoots free throws Tuesday. The Florida Gators men’s basketball team held a practice on John W. Frost II Practice Court in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Heading into the the 2024-2025 season, the Florida Gators will be without its two main bigs in Tyrese Samuel, who exhausted his collegiate eligibility, and Micah Handlogten, who will medically redshirt after an ankle injury suffered in the SEC Tournament.

Chattanooga transfer Sam Alexis will look to help fill the void left by both. In two seasons with the Mocs, the 6-foot, 8-inch junior averaged 7.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Last season, the Apopka, Florida native broke out averaging nearly 11 points a game with 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per contest while being named to the Southern Conference All-Defensive team and Third-Team All-Southern Conference.

Now at Florida, he sees himself not only transferring those skills over, but also alleviating the loss of two between Samuel's production on both sides of the floor and Handlogten's ability as an offensive rebounder.

"They play through the five, the big guys. I seen what Tyrese Samuel did last year and I felt like I could do the same thing," he said. "... I feel like I can be a big part. Micah did a lot of offensive rebounding. I think he had more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds so I'm just trying to do what he did."

Rebounding, especially, will be the key for Alexis, who already takes a lot of pride in grabbing missed shots. His attention to the skill dates back to his high school days, in which he was rewarded for grabbing at least 10 rebounds in a game.

"It started in high school with coach Williams at Apopka High School. Rebounding was a big thing and I remember he used to give me a Gatorade after I got a double-double. My mindset was like 'I'm finna get a Gatorade,'" Alexis said.

However, rebounding in high school and even in the SoCon is much easier than the SEC, Alexis admitted. That being said, the challenge ahead of him was a big reason in his decision to transfer to Florida rather than stay at Chattanooga.

"I feel like in the SoCon I didn't have to go as hard to grab a rebound but here at practice I have to go extremely hard to get one rebound. One rebound is a war. Getting one rebound is a battle," he explained."... Everybody is my height. In the SoCon I was one of the biggest guys in the conference."

That war for rebounds in practice is mainly fought with fellow transfer Rueben Chinyelu. At the moment, it appears as if Alexis will be one of Florida's first players off the bench as a sub for Chinyelu, but he could play major minutes for the Gators. At the moment, the two newcomers are using their different skill sets to aid each other's development.

"I feel like the coaches always say that the SEC is a tough league to play in, and I feel like Rueben fits that description. I feel like us battling every single day is going to get each other better," Alexis said. "He's a more physical big and I'm more finesse so he's going to have guard some finesse bigs and I'm going to have to guard some physical bigs in the SEC so we're getting each other better."

It's unclear exactly how Florida's rotation will work with Alexis, but it's clear after his practice performance this week that he'll see major minutes should he continue his strong play. On Tuesday, Gators Illustrated observed Alexis consistently grabbing boards and playing strong defense in the post.

The Gators tip off the 2024-2025 campaign on Nov. 4 in Jacksonville against USF for the Jacksonville Sports Foundation Invitational, which is set to start at 7 p.m.