To almost no one’s surprise, University of Louisville men’s basketball player Shaqquan Aaron will leave the program at the end of the spring semester.
Aaron, a 6-foot-7 freshman swingman, averaged a paltry 1.3 points and 0.7 rebounds in 23 games (two of which he started) for the Cardinals this season.
“We are in total agreement with Shaqquan transferring and we wish him the best,” UofL coach Rick Pitino said in a brief statement released by the school.
Aaron, who is from Seattle and attended the same high school (Rainier Beach) as former Louisville star Terrence Williams, never lived up to the hype that made him a consensus Top 35 player nationally coming in as a freshman. First off he had eligibility issues, which forced him to sit out the first nine games of the season. Then once he did become eligible he was never able to find his niche.
Aaron made his debut two days before Christmas in UofL’s 80-55 victory over Cal State Northridge. He had two rebounds, one assist and one turnover in five minutes. Four days later he tallied three points in 10 minutes off the bench in Louisville’s 58-50 loss to No. 1 Kentucky. Aaron started the Cards’ next game, but played only 5 minutes, in their victory over Long Beach State.
Aaron’s biggest, and best, effort of the season came on Jan. 4, when he scored 11 points off the bench in UofL’s 85-76 win at Wake Forest in its Atlantic Coast Conference debut. He was 4 for 9 from the field, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range, and 2 of 3 from the free throw line while snagging five rebounds in 23 minutes.
After that, however, Aaron fell out of favor with Pitino due to his work ethic and was barely heard from the rest of the season. He scored 15 points the remainder of the season, even after the Cards were short-handed due to the dismissal of Chris Jones.
Aaron shot 26.2 percent (11 for 42) from the field, including 21.7 percent (5 for 23) from 3-point range, and was only 2 of 5 (40 percent) from the free throw line.
Photo courtesy University of Louisville Men’s Basketball Facebook Page
