Illinois freshman guard Mark Smith, the state's Mr. Basketball winner in 2017, confirmed to the Tribune on Monday that he has decided to transfer from the program.
Smith, from Edwardsville, Ill., made a splash when he signed with Illinois last April after winning the prestigious Mr. Basketball award as the state's top high school player.
But his freshman season under first-year Illini coach Brad Underwood was largely unproductive. The 6-foot-4 Smith averaged only 5.8 points on 33.7 percent shooting, including a meager 23.2 percent on 3-pointers. His scoring average dipped to 3.1 points in Big Ten play.
Joe Henricksen of City/Suburban Hoops Report first reported the news Monday.
According to Henricksen, Smith met Monday with athletic department officials to inform them of his plan to transfer and will receive a release from his scholarship in the next few days.
