Hawkeye Basketball Team Loses Another Player

Marcellus Sommerville has elected to leave the Iowa basketball team. This announcement comes at the end of a tumultuous summer for Iowa Athletics. The basketball team also lost redshirt freshman Erek Hansen due to academic issues and incoming freshman; Jeff Horner, has a broken foot, which required surgery and the insertion of a pin. The official press release:

University of Iowa Sports Information August 21, 2002

IOWA CITY, IA -- University of Iowa freshman basketball player Marcellus Sommerville has decided to leave the team. He cited personal reasons for the sudden departure.

Sommerville, a 6-6, 215-pound forward from Peoria, IL, was redshirted last year. He did not indicate what his future plans are.

The following is a statement by Iowa Head Coach Steve Alford.

"We really hate to see Marcellus leave and not take advantage of the situation that awaited him on this team. It's unfortunate that after redshirting last season he won't be able to reap the benefits of all the practice time he put in. Our entire coaching staff wishes Marcellus well in all his future endeavors."