There have been few college basketball careers as strange as Silvio De Sousa‘s. After four years filled with twists and turns at Kansas, he says he will finish up at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, playing for the Mocs in the Southern Conference.
De Sousa, a former standout at IMG Academy, entered college early and won immediate eligibility to play for the Jayhawks in January 2018. He helped bolster the frontcourt en route to a Final Four appearance, averaging four points and 3.7 rebounds in 20 games for the team.
He became a focus into the investigation into corruption into the sport the following year, which ultimately derailed his sophomore season. Amid allegations that his guardian was paid by boosters and sneaker company runners, he was deemed ineligible for the 2018-19 and 19-20 seasons. After missing the first of those two years, he won an appeal, and was allowed to play the following year.
De Sousa appeared in 18 games, starting one for the Jayhawks in 2019-20, but didn’t make the impact most had hoped, averaging just 2.6 points and 2.8 boards in under nine minutes per game. He opted out of the 2020-21 season in October, one day after speaking with police about allegations that he assaulted a man outside of a Lawrence bar.
ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴɴᴏᴜɴᴄᴇ ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsɪᴛʏ ᴏғ ᴛᴇɴɴᴇssᴇᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴛᴛᴀɴᴏᴏɢᴀ. ɪ’ᴍ ᴏғғɪᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴀ ᴍᴏᴄ🔵🟡
ᴇxᴏᴅᴜs 𝟷𝟺:𝟷𝟺🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/FFwIKb79B3— Silvio De Sousa ™ (@SilvioDeSousa5) July 20, 2021
“I have made the difficult decision to opt out of this season to focus all of my energies on some personal issues,” Silvio De Sousa tweeted about the decision. “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. I do not know what my next plan will be right now, but I will decide that when the time is right.”
He was charged with aggravated battery after the incident. He was denied diversion, and is set to head to trial in a few weeks, after pleading not guilty in May.
He’ll do so after finding a second college program. The Mocs are coming off of an 18-7 2020-21 season, in which they reached the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament.
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