LAWRENCE, Kansas _ Kansas senior forward Silvio De Sousa has decided to leave the KU basketball program, he reported Friday on Twitter.
"I have made the difficult decision to opt out of this season to focus all of my energies on some personal issues," De Sousa said on Friday on social media. "I have a lot of things weighing on my mind and need to address these by taking time for myself and stepping away from basketball. I do not know what my next plan will be right now, but I will decide that when the time is right.
"This was not an easy decision to leave the basketball program, but it's the best thing for me to do right now. Thank you to all my coaches and teammates for always having my back. You will always be my brothers for life. Jayhawk nation, thank you for welcoming me and supporting me through the ups and downs. It has been very tough for me at times, but you have all meant so much to me."
KU coach Bill Self issued a comment on the 6-foot-9, 245-pound De Sousa's decision to leave the program:
"Today, Silvio informed me he was going to opt out of the 2020-21 season and focus on matters in his personal life. Knowing Silvio, it was clear he had been distracted and not fully focused during workouts as of late," Self said. "After he and I sat down and talked about that, it was clear this was the best decision for him, and Kansas basketball, to leave the program. At some point in the future, Silvio will decide what his next steps will be and where that will take him.
"Silvio has worked very hard during his time here and we have stood by him throughout, but we fully understand his reasoning to take time away from basketball. We support his decision and wish him nothing but success moving forward."
De Sousa, who is from Angola, was suspended last season for 12 games by the Big 12 Conference for his role in a fight at the end of the KU-Kansas State game at Allen Fieldhouse. For the season, he played in just 18 games, averaging 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He averaged 8.2 minutes a game.
De Sousa, 22, has been part of the NCAA's inquiry into KU basketball. The NCAA initially ruled on Feb. 1, 2019 that De Sousa must sit out the remainder of the 2018-19 basketball season and all of 2019-20 "because his guardian received payment from a university booster and agent and agreed to receive additional funds from the same person."
KU appealed the NCAA decision, and on May 24, 2019, the NCAA announced that De Sousa had won his appeal and would be eligible to play during the 2019�20 season.
