Men’s Basketball: Three players to transfer off team

Jeantal Cylla, Nick Rutherford and Jesse Hill will all be leaving Florida Atlantic basketball.

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Sophomore Nick Rutherford is one of only two Owls to start every game this season. Alexander Rodriguez | Contributing Photographer

Hans Belot Jr., Sports Editor
March 16, 2017

Sophomore forwards Jeantal Cylla, Jesse Hill and guard Nick Rutherford, will be transferring out of the Florida Atlantic men’s basketball program, according to a source close to the program. FAU Owl Access first reported the news.

Cylla came to FAU after earning all-state and all-academic honors during his time at Lake Worth High School, and appeared in all 33 games for the Owls during his freshman year, including 24 starts.

He started in all 30 games during this past season, where he averaged 7.1 points per game, which was seventh on the team. His 3.3 rebounds per game were fourth-best among the Owls.

Jeantal Cylla races ahead of teammates Adonis Filer and Ronald Delph during sprints in practice. Ryan Lynch | Editor-in-Chief

Rutherford averaged nine points per game this past season, as well as a team-best 4.3 assists per game. The point guard also hit the biggest shot of FAU’s season, a last-second floater in Columbus, Ohio to defeat Ohio State 79-77 on Dec. 6 in overtime.

He has also started every game he’s played in since he came to campus two years ago from Allen High School.

Sophomore forward Jesse Hill skies toward the basket during Thursday’s Red Hot Madness. Mohammed F. Emran | Staff Photographer

After appearing in 30 games for FAU his freshman year and averaging 18.5 minutes per game, Hill only appeared in four games this past season for the Owls, playing a total of 15 minutes. He failed to score a single point and averaged just 2.8 rebounds in those games.

The Owls currently have just one verbal commit for the 2017-18 season in Byron Abrams, a point guard from Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia. FAU has sent two other offers to shooting guards Ethan Lasko and Trey Diggs, but they are both currently undecided.

Hans Belot Jr. is the sports editor of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him at @Don_Phenom_.