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Kansas guard to transfer out of the program

Iowa State v Kansas

LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 9: Sam Cunliffe #3 of the Kansas Jayhawks lays the ball up against Cameron Lard #2 and Hans Brase #30 of the Iowa State Cyclones at Allen Fieldhouse on January 9, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

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Kansas announced on Monday afternoon that junior guard Sam Cunliffe will be transferring out of the program.

“Even though we hate to see Sam leave, we totally respect his decision,” head coach Bill Self said in a statement. “Sam has been terrific since he’s been here. He’s been a great teammate. He’s been a guy that has put forth the effort and it hasn’t translated to playing time for him yet. I respect this because the opportunity for him to impact another program would probably be greater now, than it would be a year from now. We wish him the best. We’ll always be a fan and pull for him.”

Cunliffe played sparingly for the Jayhawks during their run to the 2018 Final Four after transferring into the program from Arizona State. He played in 15 games, getting eligible during the semester break, but managed just 4.9 minutes per contest.

“After the season I was exploring my options, trying to do what’s best,” Cunliffe said. “I wasn’t for sure if I wanted to go but I needed see it out and go until I came to a clear decision. After going through (summer) workouts with the team and talking with the coaches and my family, we all agreed that this is the best decision for me, to go play somewhere else. I know now having gone through this process.”

He averaged 9.5 points during his one semester as a freshman at Arizona State.