E.J. Floreal will leave basketball to run track for Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky reserve guard E.J. Floreal is leaving basketball to compete for the Wildcats' track and field squad coached by his father, Edrick Sr.

Floreal played in 29 games over three years with the Wildcats and was on teams that won back-to-back Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament championships and reached the Final Four in 2014 and '15.

But Floreal arrived on campus as a local and regional track champion sprinter in Kentucky and plans to use his two years of eligibility competing for his father, who has trained 11 Olympic athletes including three in this year's Rio Games. Floreal said in a release Tuesday that ''this transition won't be easy, but I was bred for this. As much as I love basketball, track is in my blood.''