Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Tyler Cavanaugh explains reasons for leaving Wake Forest in report

Tyler Cavanaugh, Kyle Cain

Tyler Cavanaugh, Kyle Cain

AP

Wake Forest took a rather large blow to their 2014-15 season when sophomore forward Tyler Cavanaugh opted to transfer earlier this month and in a report from Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com, the 6-foot-9 Cavanaugh explained the rationale for his decision.

For the stretch four, it mostly came down to winning and making the NCAA Tournament in his final two seasons of eligibility.

“I wrote down my goals -- I want to make the NCAA Tournament, I want to compete for a conference championship,” Cavanaugh said to Ditota. “I mean, I loved my time at Wake. My two years were great; up and down and I learned a lot about myself as a player. But I felt like it was time for me to move on to something else.”

After the resignation of former head coach Jeff Bzdelik, Cavanaugh waited to meet with new Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning and ultimately decided that moving on was his best option. With the loss of senior Travis McKie and friend Arnaud William-Adala Moto to transfer, Cavanaugh felt like Wake Forest didn’t have the horses to compete in the ACC the next two seasons.

“It wasn’t an easy decision because I really loved Wake and all the guys and I think Coach Manning is eventually going to do a good job,” Cavanaugh said to Ditota. “But I just didn’t feel like it was the right spot for me anymore and I wanted to pursue a better opportunity. I think the team can have success, but I just really wasn’t feeling it any more.”

Cavanaugh told Ditota that he’s heard from Colorado, Davidson, Dayton, George Washington, Oregon and Providence and he’s likely to make a list of three schools and take official visits in the near future.

In his sophomore season, Cavanaugh averaged 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and the 6-foot-9 forward also shot 42 percent from the field, 31 percent from three-point range and 79 percent from the free-throw line.

If Cavanaugh wants to make the NCAA Tournament or compete for a conference championship, he likely made the right decision to leave Wake Forest. Although Danny Manning did a nice job at Tulsa and could be successful in Winston-Salem, it wouldn’t likely come in the next two seasons while Cavanaugh still had eligibility.

Follow @phillipshoops