Joey St. Pierre leaving UTEP basketball team

With the season just around the corner, the UTEP basketball team will be without one of their recruits.

Freshman forward Joey St. Pierre announced on Saturday that he is leaving the team due to personal reasons.

In a statement, St. Pierre said, “The last year has been challenging for me for a number of reasons. I want to make it clear that my decision is not based in any way on being unhappy at UTEP.”

St. Pierre said UTEP head coach Tim Floyd was supportive of his decision adding, “I appreciate his sympathy and understanding,” St. Pierre said, “I just feel like I need to be with my family in Illinois right now. I plan to explore all options for the future, including outside of college basketball.”

“Joey is a wonderful young man and we’ve enjoyed our time with him,” Floyd said, “We wish him the best.”

St. Pierre is from Spring Grove, Illinois.

As a senior at Richmond-Burton High School, St. Pierre averaged 13.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.