After initially being denied a release from Memphis, junior forward Austin Nichols was granted a conditional release.
“I spoke with Austin Nichols this morning and informed him the University of Memphis will grant to him a conditional release from his National Letter of Intent,” said Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen, according to CBSSports.com. “While we are disappointed in this outcome and the timing of this situation, we respect his wishes to pursue other opportunities. We appreciate Austin’s contributions to the Tigers and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
According to Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com:
Nichols will not be released to transfer to any American Athletic Conference school, any school on the Tigers’ future schedules and/or Tennessee, Providence, Iowa or Virginia, a source told CBSSports.com. According to The Commercial Appeal, Memphis will play in the 2016 Emerald Coast Classic with Providence, Iowa and Virginia. So that’s the explanation there. Tennessee is simply on a “restricted” list, according to an email a source told CBSSports.com the school sent to a UT official. Nichols’ sister is a Tennessee student.
Nichols averaged 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this past season. He becomes the fourth Memphis player in their 2013 recruiting class to transfer, following Nick King (Alabama), Pookie Powell (La Salle) and Kuran Iverson (Rhode Island).
Photo: USA Today Sports
