Story’s end: Freshman to transfer from IU

Looking to continue his basketball career closer to his Los Angeles home, freshman guard Malik Story has decided to transfer at the end of the semester.

With the Hoosiers in possession of one too many scholarship players for the 2009 season, it was clear someone from this year’s team wouldn’t be around next season.
It just wasn’t clear who.

But the mystery was solved Thursday night in a press release when IU coach Tom Crean confirmed the move, announcing he supported the freshman’s decision.

“As a parent, I understand the need to be close to family,” Crean said. “We have encouraged Malik to continue to take advantage of getting his individual workouts in with our team and to utilize the academic support system he has here at Indiana until the end of the semester.”

The 6-foot-5 swingman played in all 31 games for the Hoosiers this season, averaging 5.9 points per game in just less than 18 minutes. Story played a versatile role in the team’s offense, often providing a boost off the bench and logging minutes, playing everything from point guard to power forward.

In the release, Story said he is “very grateful to have had the opportunity” to play at IU.
“I have a tremendous amount of love and admiration for Coach Crean, the assistant coaches and my teammates,” Story said. “This was a very emotional decision for me, but I am blessed to have a tremendous support system in my family at home and I want to be able to share my collegiate experiences with them.”

Story’s decision to transfer is the latest chapter to a nomadic basketball career. In high school, Story attended two high schools in California and Oak Hill Academy, a prep school in Virginia. After originally committing to the University of Southern California during his sophomore year, Story later re-opened his recruitment, ultimately selecting IU.

The freshman struggled to find his niche in IU’s offense this season at times and would have faced heavy competition for playing time with the arrival of a deep recruiting class.

His most public struggle came in the Jan. 17 game against Penn State. Story played only three minutes and was benched in favor of freshman walk-on Broderick Lewis after Crean said he felt Story lacked “a sense of urgency.”

“We’re not in a position to play guys through things right now,” Crean said after the game. “We’re trying to be desperate ... I want these guys to understand the train stops for no one.”

Story responded the next game to tie his season-high of 14 points against Minnesota, one of his six double-digit performances of the season.