Miami ? Three years later, it certainly looks like Alex Galindo made a pretty fair trade when he gave up the tradition at Kansas University for the opportunity at Florida International.

True, the Sun Belt Conference is not the Big 12. True, FIU hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since the 1999-00 campaign. And, true, the crowds for home games in Pharmed Arena aren’t quite as plentiful as those in Allen Fieldhouse.

Program prestige isn’t everything, though.

“I’m happy here,” Galindo said. “From the basketball standpoint, that’s definitely something that I miss. But I’m in Miami, and I’m with my family now.”

Galindo, who transferred to FIU following the 2004-05 season – his only year as a Jayhawk – moved to Miami to be closer to his family, which then lived in Puerto Rico. Alex again is living under the same roof as his folks and little brother, who relocated to South Florida six months ago.

At peace on a personal level, Galindo has blossomed on the floor in two seasons as a Panther.

“For us, he’s had to become a total player,” FIU coach Sergio Rouco said. “He came in as a kid who could shoot the basketball, and that’s who he was. We asked him to do so many things that he had never done and wasn’t comfortable with. It’s been hard for him to understand in ways, but he has accepted it, and he’s done great, and he’s become a great total player.”

The numbers show Galindo’s transformation from his first year of collegiate ball to now, as a fourth-year junior.

In his one year playing for Bill Self, Galindo averaged 4.1 points per game while seeing the floor just 10 minutes a night. He also drew praise as a budding outside shooter, connecting on 17 of his 44 three-point attempts. The rest of his stat line from that year, though, left something to be desired.

It has filled out while playing in Miami, though. Utilizing his 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame in a more versatile fashion, Galindo is FIU’s second-leading scorer (12.4 ppg) and top rebounder (6.5 rpg) while playing a team-high 32 minutes per game. His FIU highlight to date came last Saturday in a 68-66 loss to Louisiana-Monroe. Despite the defeat, Galindo scored a career-high 34 points, tying for the second-most points ever scored in a single game at FIU.

“Let’s say he came in as Reggie Miller, and he’s going to leave as Larry Bird,” Rouco said. “Not that he’s at that level, but a guy who can rebound, who can defend, who can post, hit people and do more than just shoot the basketball.”

The one number Galindo would really like to see improve, though, is the one that makes him miss KU at times – the Panthers’ 5-13 record.

“It’s very difficult (to adjust) when you’re used to winning. You’ve just got to keep hoping to be better next year and try to make it to the tournament,” Galindo said. “I really didn’t have tournament experience (coming to FIU), because when I played there we lost to Bucknell.”

Meanwhile, the class he came into KU with is enjoying its finest ride yet, with a No. 2 national ranking and a 19-0 record out of the gates. It’s something Galindo experiences second-hand.

“We talk about twice a week, either through text messages or calling,” KU senior guard Russell Robinson said. “But he’s gonna be a lifetime friend. I follow him, he follows me.

“I think it’s tough on him, not winning. But he’s got his family with him, feels a lot of support that he didn’t feel here, and he’s in Miami – a lot of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics, he loves that – so I think that’s probably the big difference with him playing well there.”

Galindo also has found comfort on campus academically. Galindo is on pace to graduate at the end of this year, Rouco said, and next fall will take graduate courses toward a master’s degree in sports management. He’s currently interning for the school’s athletic director.

And that’s where the trade levels out. While he’s not winning as much as he did at Kansas, he’s still developed as a player and is productive. While he’s not with his first collegiate basketball family, he’s with his parents and brother and in a community where he feels truly comfortable.

Both of those show in a new tattoo on his right shoulder, featuring a slightly-frayed Puerto Rican flag as the backdrop to a bright, orange basketball.

“In Kansas, I was probably the only Puerto Rican in the whole state,” he said. “(In Miami) I’ve got everything working for me.”