Nebraska freshman guard Tarin Smith intends to transfer, he announced on Twitter on Tuesday night. The 6-foot-2 New Jersey native started three games late in the season but came off the bench the final two games of the season.
[embed]
Thank you again to the University of Nebraska and all those who supported me. My family and I feel that it is not the best fit for me at...
— ThankYou (@Smittee_) April 1, 2015
[/embed]
[embed]
this time and we are deciding to move on. It has nothing to do with me competing for a position. That is something I've done my entire...
— ThankYou (@Smittee_) April 1, 2015
[/embed]
[embed]
life and will continue to do wherever I continue my career. To those that I am leaving behind I wish nothing but the best.
— ThankYou (@Smittee_) April 1, 2015
[/embed]
Smith is the second player to leave the Huskes this week, as junior forward Walter Pitchford announced that he’s not playing basketball during his senior season.
As a freshman, Smith averaged 17.6 minutes per game and averaged 4.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. He also shot 44 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range.
As Lee Barfknecht of Omaha.com notes, Smith is the fifth player out of 11 that Nebraska head coach Tim Miles has signed as two- or four-year recruits who have transferred, quit or been dismissed.
Miles told Barfknecht that he wasn’t pleased to see Smith leave, and tried to do everything he could to convince him to stay.
“Tarin and I had talked over the last month about his future and where he fit in,” Miles said to Barfknecht. “I believe strongly in Tarin and wanted him to stay, but I put out the most likely scenario for him and told him he had to feel good about it.”
Smith would have fought for minutes with senior Benny Parker and four-star freshman Glynn Watson, who just won a state title in Illinois’ Class 3A.
With the loss of Pitchford and Smith this week, Nebraska now has two open scholarships this spring. They also await the NBA Draft decision of guard Terran Petteway.