Head men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Monday afternoon that sophomore reserve center Michael Thompson will transfer to another school after the completion of the current semester.
"He is leaving Duke in good academic standing, and we wish him well in the future," Krzyzewski said in a statement.
Thompson, a 6-foot-10, 245-pounder from Joliet, Ill., was a McDonald's All-American in high school. During his freshman campaign, Thompson averaged just 1.3 points and 0.5 rebounds in 16 games.
Coming into this year, however, Thompson appeared to have turned a corner in his playing career, as he tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and one block in Duke's intrasquad scrimmage, the Blue-White Game, in October.
Thompson played 14 minutes in each of Duke's exhibition games this year, scoring four points and collecting seven rebounds against EA Sports, and going 0-for-4 from the field while pulling down four boards against Nike Elite. In Duke's four regular season contests, Thompson played a total of 11 minutes, eight of which came in the Blue Devils' 76-47 blasting of Liberty. Thompson picked up seven points and a rebound in that game.
In April of 2002, Thompson spoke to Duke basketball website Devils Illustrated about his decision to be a Blue Devil.
"I chose Duke because they are so tight with each other," he said. "It's a family atmosphere. They all support each other.... It's going to be nice to play for a team where I won't get triple teammed. I can kick it out to guys like Chris Duhon. Having guards like that will create some spaces for me to get the ball inside. It's going to be a lot of fun to play for a great school."
Thompson has not announced where he plans to transfer, though his recruiting process will begin immediately.
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