Senior guard Anthony Hickey, a three-year starter at point guard, was among three players who will not return to the LSU basketball program, coach Johnny Jones announced Tuesday.
Hickey, junior forward Malik Morgan and sophomore forward Shane Hammink “will not be a part of the LSU program next season,” Jones said in a news release.
“We thank them for their contributions they made to the LSU basketball team and certainly wish them well in their future plans,” Jones said in a statement.
LSU spokesman Kent Lowe told The Daily Reveille that all three players were granted their releases from the program, making them eligible to transfer wherever they choose.
Hickey, a Hopkinsville, Ky. native, started 85 games in his three-year career. He averaged 9.4 points and had 360 career assists while leading the Southeastern Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio in 2013.
He was suspended indefinitely from the team in 2012 by Jones, then in his first season at the helm, and was subsequently reinstated before a road swing to Boise State and UC Irvine.
Hickey was also suspended for the team’s game against Houston Baptist later that season.
Morgan suffered a knee injury against Auburn on Feb. 8 and was sidelined for the remainder of the 2013 season. He averaged 4.9 points and three rebounds per game in his career.
Hammink, the son of former LSU standout Geert Hammink, averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in his LSU career as a reserve player.
The three departures leave LSU at 11 scholarship players, two under the NCAA limit of 13.