Louisville Cardinals men's basketball coach Rick Pitino announced in a press conference on Tuesday, that Jared Swopshire, the lone returning starting from the 2009-10 team, will transfer for his final year of eligibility.
Pitino said he "would love to see Swopshire play 32 minutes somewhere else than 10 minutes here." Pitino was referring to Swopshire, having to sit on the bench behind Freshman Chane Behanan, who has averaged 9.3 points and 7.7 rebounds
The location of the school is unknown, most likely it will be small. Following an injury that ended Swopshire's season last year, most thought Pitino would honor Swopshire with a red shirt.
He did not.
At this junction, this appears to be the right decision for Swopshire. Although he hasn't been the same player since his injury, he is still a great talent. I wish Jared Swopshire nothing but the best and have to question Pitino's handling of the situation. Swopshire was a player who constantly gave his all to the program, and for Pitino not to pay him back with a red-shirt is quite absurd. When you have great talent coming in (which admittedly is up for debate), however, there are only so many athletic scholarships to go around.
Swopshire is averaging 12.5 minutes, 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds this season. His final home game at Louisville will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. against South Florida, in which he will be honored as a senior. Additionally, he make his first start in over two years for the Louisville Cardinals.