Basketball player chooses classroom over hardwood

USF men’s basketball player Maurice Mobley has left the program for personal reasons, the school announced Monday.

According to coach Robert McCullum, Mobley, a junior forward, will remain on scholarship through the fall semester of the 2004-05 academic year.

“Maurice Mobley made a decision to leave the basketball program,” McCullum said. “He indicated that he was struggling balancing both academics and basketball and as a result chose to focus on the academic side. While Maurice made a great deal of progress on the basketball court, we certainly respect his wishes and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

This is the second scholarship player the basketball program has lost this season. The team released on Nov. 12 that senior point guard Bradley Mosley has renal cell cancer and will miss the entire 2004-05 season.

Mobley transferred to USF this season from Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., where he averaged 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds a game.

The Bulls start their regular season on Saturday versus Stephen F. Austin State University at the Sun Dome at 7 p.m.