EUGENE -- Oregon forward Ben Carter, whose sophomore season debut was delayed due to

for selling team-issued gear, is transferring away from the program, making him the second Duck in as many days to do so.

The 6-foot-8 Carter, a Las Vegas native, was released from his scholarship this week by coach Dana Altman, the coach said Thursday morning in a press release. Carter joins A.J. Lapray, the reserve guard who announced Wednesday he will leave for Pepperdine, in exiting the program.

The Ducks now have 12 scholarships, one under the NCAA limit.

"Ben and A.J. are both good young men and we wish them nothing but the best in the future," Altman said.

Carter's father, Mike, who runs a prominent AAU team called the Las Vegas Lakers, said his son grew frustrated by being played at center instead of the two forward positions, and also from playing behind players who transferred into the program.

It was a nine-game suspension for selling team gear -- a penalty also given to guard Dominic Artis for his role in the sales -- that pushed Carter's season debut into December, however. He averaged 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in two seasons and played 12.7 minutes per game in 2013-14, two more per game than as a freshman.

Carter was recruited to Oregon by former assistant Brian Fish, who left to become Montana State's head coach on March 31.

"Up there in Oregon they never knew what he could do," Mike Carter said. "He never got to showcase himself. H

e's an impact player and they never used him right. They tried to make him a center and never let him play a power forward."

Mike Carter would not say whether UNLV was his son's ultimate destination, but said UNLV coach Dave Rice is a longtime friend who recruited Carter out of high school from Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High. Rice's brother, Grant, was Carter's coach at Gorman. Carter was the longtime women's basketball coach at Gorman and played professional basketball overseas.

"H

e doesn't believe in the system and the offense Dana runs, it just doesn't fit his game," Mike Carter said. "He made the decision to go up there and now he wants to make the decision to leave."

In a subsequent interview, Mike Carter stressed that, "Ben's family is behind him 100 percent in his decision to leave but we do not know where he will be going yet" and added that he personally was never upset with Oregon's coaching staff.

Ben Carter could not be reached for comment, but he tweeted early Thursday that, at "

the end of the day, I have made a decision that is best for my future!"

Out of high school, he chose Oregon over near two dozen schools that included UNLV, Boston College, Arizona State, USC and Nevada.

The departure hurts Oregon's frontcourt, where the 6-foot-7 Elgin Cook is the only big man of UO's seven returning players. Last week, Oregon was reportedly interested in landing

, who was recruited by Altman's staff out of high school before choosing St. John's.

-- Andrew Greif