Duke sophomore forward Semi Ojeleye to transfer

Sophomore forward Semi Ojeleye has decided to leave second-ranked Duke’s men’s basketball program, the school announced Sunday. Ojeleye is leaving in good academic standing, which will allow him to transfer to another Division I school and be eligible to play starting with the 2016 spring semester.

“We want to thank Semi and his family for their commitment to the Duke program for the last year and a half,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. “He has been granted a full release and we definitely wish him the best.”

Ojeleye, who is 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, appeared in six of the Blue Devils’ eight games this season, averaging 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game. He did not play in the most recent game against then-No. 2 Wisconsin, and, with Justise Winslow and Amile Jefferson able to play his position, Ojeleye was going to continue to struggle to find minutes.

Ojeleye, who hails from Ottawa, Kan., had won Duke’s strength testing competition in each of the past two seasons, but he was unable to translate that raw ability into on-court results.

Ojeleye, the 2012-13 Parade Magazine National Player of the Year, was the only one of Duke’s 10 scholarship players who was not a McDonald’s all-American.

This story was originally published December 14, 2014 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Duke sophomore forward Semi Ojeleye to transfer."