Guard Elliott Pitts transfers from Arizona Wildcats
May 17, 2016, 8:36 PM | Updated: 8:43 pm
Arizona guard Elliott Pitts (24) drives between Oregon's Jalil Abdul-Bassit (15) and Elgin Cook during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona won 90-56. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Wildcats guard Elliott Pitts announced Tuesday that he will transfer from the program, an unsurprising move with the basketball team handing out a scholarship over the weekend, putting them over the limit had Pitts returned.
Hutchinson Community College forward Keanu Pinder committed to Arizona. Combined with three incoming freshmen perimeter players — plus returning players like Kadeem Allen, Ray Smith and Allonzo Trier — the writing was on the wall for Pitts, who had left the team midseason due to undisclosed personal issues.
“Elliott Pitts has informed the athletics department that he intends to transfer from the University of Arizona for the upcoming school year to continue his education,” head coach Sean Miller said in a release. “We wish him well in the future.”
Pitts looked like he would finally carve out a role in the 2015-16 rotation before the off-the-court issue led to his leave of absence.
A 4-star prospect out of high school, the 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard saw his three-point percentage drop from 39-percent his freshman year to 13 percent in seven games as a junior before he left the team.
Miller continued recruiting perimeter players even after Trier removed his candidacy for the NBA Draft and after the commitment of Simmons, Alkins and Ferguson.
