Milton Doyle leaves Kansas on the eve of the first day of fall semester
Even in an offseason noteworthy for a record number of college basketball transfers, Milton Doyle's decision to leave Kansas still stands out because of the timing.
The freshman guard decided the school wasn't for him without ever playing in a game that counts in the standings.
Lisa Green told the Kansas City Star and the Lawrence Daily Journal on Sunday that her son will leave school on the eve of the start of the fall semester. Doyle enrolled at Kansas for summer classes and joined the team on its exhibition tour of Europe this month, scoring 10 points and logging 25 minutes in four total games.
Why would Green pass up playing for one of the nation's most tradition-rich programs without ever really giving it a chance? His mom was cryptic about the decision, but the most likely answer is, concerns about a lack of playing time.
Doyle, a 6-foot-4 combo guard who originally committed to Florida International, was largely unknown nationally when he chose Kansas over Marquette in June. He might have been able to carve out a niche for himself off the bench with the Jayhawks had fellow freshman Rio Adams not qualified academically, but now that Adams is available, immediate playing time looks scarce.
With Elijah Johnson starting at point guard, Ben McLemore and Travis Releford likely to start at wing and Naadir Tharpe, Adams and Andrew White available off the bench, Doyle probably would have been the odd man out in the guard rotation. And it wouldn't have gotten any easier for Doyle to see the floor the following season, with shooting guard Conner Frankamp set to join the Jayhawks.
Doyle probably should have realized this before he signed with Kansas, but perhaps it took receiving scant minutes in Europe even while McClemore was nursing an injury to bring things into focus.
Now he'll have to find a new school at a time when many programs don't have any vacant scholarships. It's not an ideal situation, but apparently Doyle thought it would be better than being the 11th or 12th man in Lawrence next season.
