Ex-University of Michigan forward Ricky Doyle chooses Florida Gulf Coast

In a season filled fill transfers, Ex-University of Michigan forward Ricky Doyle has decided to transfer back home. The 6-9 big man is returning to his home state of Florida to play for Florida Gulf Coast University.

Doyle is a native of Cape Coral, Florida which is roughly a 40 minute drive to FGCU. Doyle announced his plans to transfer back in March after seeing his playing time decrease in his second season for the Michigan Wolverines. A starter in his first year, Doyle missed only one game in his two years at Michigan and started 30 games of the maize and blue. The sophomore forward saw less and less time over the course of his last season due to the spark provided by Mark Donnal and the emergence of Moritz Wagner. Doyle averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds at Michigan.

Doyle is the third Michigan player to announce the school the will transfer to next season. Earlier this month longtime Michigan guard and fan favorite Spike Albrecht announced he will return to his home state of Indiana and play his final season at Purdue. Second year forward Aubrey Dawkins will sit out a year and transfer to the University of Central Florida and play for his father. Michigan is still waiting for their fourth and final transfer, Kameron Chatman, to announce where he will play in 2016-2017 after announcing he will transfer only a few weeks ago.

Doyle never really found in his grooce in head coach John Beilein's system. Standing at 6-9, Doyle was undersized to be a true center and did not have the ability to stretch the floor or shoot. As a more traditional post up center Doyle may fit better with FGCU and their up tempo offense.

FGCU burst onto the national scene in 2013 when they played Cinderella in the NCAA tournament, advancing all the way to the Sweet 16. The Eagles won their play-in game during last years tournament but failed to upset the top seeded North Carolina Tar Heels.

Doyle battled an undiagnosed sleep apnea problem for most of the year because it was discovered midway through the season. Doyle began playing better after the issue was addressed but due to the presence of incoming freshmen big men Jon Teske and Austin Davis, the general consensus was it is time for both sides to move on.