Freshmen Tyler Relph and Jerrah Young, who combined to start eight games this season for West Virginia, have decided to transfer, coach John Beilein announced Friday.
"While I am disappointed at their decision, I understand that it is a part of college basketball today. We will work with Tyler and Jerrah to help them fulfill their wishes," Beilein said.
West Virginia concluded its season Monday with a 67-64 loss at Rutgers in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament to finish with a 17-14 record. In the game, Relph, a 6-foot guard, played 15 minutes, scoring six points. Young, a 6-6 forward, did not see action.
Their departures alleviated a potential logjam on the Mountaineers' roster for next season, when two touted newcomers who sat out this year -- 6-7 redshirt freshman forward B.J. Byerson and 6-4 junior guard Mike Gansey, a transfer from St. Bonaventure -- are slated to join the team.
Beilein also will welcome two other players, who signed letters of intent last fall -- Darris Nichols, a 6-2 guard from Radford (Va.) High School, and 6-11 center Luke Bonner of Manchester (N.H.) Trinity.
Relph, a former "Mr. Basketball" for the state of New York after averaging 21 points per game as a senior at Rochester McQuaid Jesuit High School, played in all 31 games with five starts this season for West Virginia. He averaged 5.0 points and 1.5 assists in 17.7 minutes per game. He had career-highs of 12 points against Florida on Dec. 20 and eight assists against Maryland on Dec. 7.
Young, after averaging 18 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks as a senior at Chicago St. Rita High School, played in 21 games with three starts this season for the Mountaineers. But he averaged just 0.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 7.5 minutes per game.
"Tyler and Jerrah worked hard for us in the classroom and on the court. Our basketball staff appreciated their efforts and their honesty in wanting to transfer," Beilein said.
West Virginia, which lost its leading scorer, Drew Schifino, for disciplinary reasons after 11 games, managed to reach the postseason, nonetheless. The Mountaineers return their entire starting lineup next year, including 6-11 center D'or Fischer, who led the Mountaineers in scoring (10.8 ppg.) and rebounding (6.2 rpg.).
Byerson and Gansey practiced this season with West Virginia, but they were ineligible to play for the Mountaineers.
Byerson was one of the top high school players to come out of Virginia in 2003 after averaging 22.7 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 3.2 assists and 2.9 steals as a senior at Colonial Heights Thomas Dale. Meanwhile, Gansey, while at St. Bonaventure, ranked 13th in scoring (13.9 ppg.) in the Atlantic 10 Conference as a sophomore in 2002-03.
