AJ West leaves Wolf Pack for personal reasons

Wolf Pack center AJ West, a third-team All-Mountain West honoree last season, has stepped away from the team and ended his college career due to personal matters.

West is averaging 9.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season, but has fallen out of the starting lineup and seen a decrease in minutes. Last year, he averaged a double-double (12.1 points, 11 rebounds) with 2.6 blocks per game. He also led the nation in offensive rebounds, setting a MW single-season record.

“I am writing this letter to inform that I am stepping away from the team because of personal reasons and I do not want to be a distraction to the team,” West said in a statement to the Reno Gazette-Journal. “It has been a pleasure playing for the University of Nevada. I will continue to focus my energy on my personal matters and toward obtaining my degree.”

West is a senior, so this essentially ends his college career. A Brooklyn native, West has returned home to New York.

"We would like to thank AJ for his contributions to the Wolf Pack basketball program during his time here," first-year head coach Eric Musselman said in a release. "We wish him nothing but the best as he moves forward."

The 6-foot-9, 235-pound big man is one of the most production post players in Wolf Pack history. In 61 games over three years, West averaged 9.9 points and nine rebounds per game (10th in program history). His 145 blocks rank third in Wolf Pack history.behind Dario Hunt and Nick Fazekas.

West came to Nevada in 2013 over offers from Memphis, Seton Hall, Detroit, Marshall, Pepperdine and South Florida. The start of his career at Nevada was delayed as the NCAA looked into his eligibility. West originally committed to Duquesne out of high school before enrolling at Niagara, where he never played, and spending a year at Monroe College.

He was eventually cleared during the 2013-14 season and made an immediate impact on Nevada. The Wolf Pack was 4-7 before he was eligible and 11-9 after while finishing third in the MW. Prior to last year, West was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA. He took him game to another level last season but had lost playing time this year as Musselman has largely gone to a small lineup, with West and freshman Cameron Oliver splitting time at center, although they did play together during some games.

The loss of West deals a severe blow to the Wolf Pack's interior depth, especially against the bigger teams in the MW like UNLV and San Diego State. Oliver has provided an immediate impact, averaging 10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. The Wolf Pack's three other primary power forward/centers -- Elijah Foster, Lucas Stivrins and Kaileb Rodriguez -- have all logged nine minutes or fewer per game. Thanks largely to West and Oliver, the Wolf Pack ranks first in the nation in blocks at 7.6 per game.

After starting 48 of 51 games the last two seasons, West has started just six of 10 games this year and come off the bench in the last two games behind Foster. West hadn't logged more than 22 minutes in any of the last five games after averaged 29.1 minutes per game last season.

After West was benched to start a game Nov. 25 against Portland State, Musselman said it was a result of "his lack of effort this week in practice."

West earned a reputation as a "complicated" player to coach, as former coach David Carter termed it last season. But he also was Nevada's best player last season and one of the best rebounders and rim-protectors in the nation.

He had 15 double-doubles in the last two season and was one of only 11 players to average in double-figures in points and rebounds last year. His 5.9 offensive rebounds per game last season were the most in the NCAA in the last 20 years

"He's strong, he's got a great awareness of where the ball's coming off the rim and biggest thing is he pursues every single ball," UNLV coach Dave Rice said of West last season. "Every single shot that goes up, he looks at it as an opportunity to go and get an offensive rebound."

In October, West said he thought about transferring after last year but was energized by the hire of Musselman. After a few down seasons, he said he wanted to give Wolf Pack fans a year they could proud of in 2015-16.

“I just want to end on a high night," West said prior to the season. "I don’t care what I individually average or attain. I just want to win. I want to go to the postseason and all of my individual success will come with that.”