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Kansas F Silvio De Sousa Opts Out of Upcoming Season

Kansas senior forward Silvio De Sousa has elected to opt out of the 2020-21 college basketball season to focus on "some personal issues," De Sousa announced on Twitter Friday.

“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,” De Sousa wrote. “This was not an easy decision, but it’s the best thing for me to do right now.”

De Sousa added in his statement that he does not know "what my next plan will be right now," adding that it was "not an easy decision to leave the basketball program."

He said he will decide on his future "when the time is right."

De Sousa has played in 38 games for the Jayhawks, starting one during his college career. He was forced to sit out the entire 2018-19 season while battling eligibility concerns with the NCAA. 

De Sousa then served a 12-game suspension for his role in a brawl in the closing seconds of a game against Kansas State. He picked up a chair and swung it over his head, but it was knocked out of his hand before anybody was injured.

De Sousa was reinstated for the final game of the regular season but did not play. The rest of what will end up being his final season at Kansas was erased by the coronavirus pandemic. He ended up averaging 2.6 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game during his junior campaign.