Florida loses 4th player in 3 days as Osifo enters portal

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — It appears Florida coach Mike White will be an active shopper in the burgeoning transfer portal.

Forward Osayi Osifo announced plans to play elsewhere Friday, becoming the fourth player in three days to leave White’s program.

The Gators also lost top assistant Jordan Mincy, who took the head coaching job at nearby Jacksonville University.

Point guard and leading scorer Tre Mann entered the NBA draft Wednesday. Guards Noah Locke and Quin Glover entered the transfer portal Thursday, further depleting the team’s backcourt. And now Osifo, a developmental project whose hustle earned him double-digit minutes in each of Florida’s last four games, followed them out the door.

The 6-foot-7 Osifo has two years of college eligibility remaining and is “looking for a new home to finish my college story,” he wrote on his Twitter page.

Osifo grew up South Africa playing cricket and rugby and running track. He picked up basketball late and came to the United States to attend a prep school in Mckinney, Texas.

He landed at Eastern Florida State College, where he spent two years before transferring the Florida.

He played in 20 games this season, scoring 38 points in 199 minutes.

Florida is still waiting to see what happens with forward Keyontae Johnson, who was hospitalized after collapsing during a game in early December and then ruled out for the season. The cause of his collapse has yet to be revealed.