Former Syracuse redshirt freshman Matthew Moyer will transfer from the men’s basketball program, he announced Monday afternoon via Twitter.

The 6-foot-8 forward started the first 20 games of the season, but he lost the job when he suffered a high-ankle sprain in a Jan. 24 win against Boston College. Marek Dolezaj took his role and began to play well. Moyer did not start again and played sparingly the rest of the season.

Moyer appeared in 35 of SU’s 37 games, averaging 16.8 minutes, 3.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He reached double figures four times, including his career-high, 18-point outburst on Dec. 5 against Connecticut at Madison Square Garden.

A native of Gahanna, Ohio, Moyer chose the Orange over offers from Arizona State, Butler, Florida, Kansas State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Wisconsin, among others. He said that Syracuse assistant coach Gerry McNamara “found me in Ohio” and knocked on Moyer’s door because he wanted Moyer to play for SU.

Moyer is the third player to leave Syracuse in the last calendar year, joining former graduate transfer Geno Thorpe and forward Taurean Thompson, who transferred to Seton Hall.

His career at SU hit a few roadblocks, first when he got hurt in the 2016-17 preseason. He redshirted the entirety of last season and struggled this year in his only season with Syracuse, oftentimes getting chastised by head coach Jim Boeheim.

At then-No. 23 Florida State in January, Moyer said Boeheim “got into me” during halftime. Moyer said that was not uncommon, especially if he had made a few mistakes early in the game.

“Obviously coach Boeheim can be tough sometimes,” Moyer told The Daily Orange before Syracuse’s Sweet 16, season-ending loss to Duke on Friday.

One of Moyer’s highlights came in the NCAA Tournament win against TCU. He realized his dream, playing the final 6:11 of the game in place of Dolezaj, who had fouled out.

“I dreamed of playing here when I was a kid,” Moyer said after the game. “Just to be here in the moment.”

Moyer did not pick up a call Monday afternoon seeking comment.

Published on March 26, 2018 at 5:25 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21