LSU freshman forward Ayana Dunning said she’s transferring from the Lady Tigers basketball team for one reason — to ensure her happiness.Dunning said college should be the best time of her life, and she felt she wasn’t getting that kind of experience at LSU.”I shouldn’t be unhappy where I am — especially playing basketball, which is such a gift,” Dunning said.Dunning said her decision had nothing to do with her teammates, but she considered her decrease in playing time as a factor.The Columbus, Ohio, native played in 23 of LSU’s 30 games in her one season as a Lady Tiger and averaged 13.7 minutes, 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She had nine starts, but the last came Feb. 1 against Auburn.”The playing time at the end of the season of course played a role,” Dunning said. “Everybody wants to play.”Dunning’s parents, Charlotte and Alfred Dunning, said their daughter’s decision to transfer had a lot to do with the way she fit into the basketball scheme at LSU.”She didn’t feel like the coaching staff had confidence in her,” Charlotte Dunning said. “In hindsight, she’s thinking [the coaches] really had not seen her play. She thought she probably should have gone to a school where the head coach saw her play all through high school and believed in her ability to play.”Attempts to contact LSU coach Van Chancellor were unsuccessful by press time.Dunning said her teammates were surprised to hear of her departure.”I love them to death, and I hope we can continue the relationships we built even though I won’t be here,” she said. “It was kind of a shock to them. I don’t want to say so much a letdown, but it’s like a missing piece, especially for me.”Dunning said sophomore forward Katherine Graham wondered who would be the team’s next jokester.”One thing [Graham] said was, ‘Who’s going to make us laugh now?'” Dunning said.Ayana Dunning said Monday she will wait on her release from LSU before she begins contacting other schools. She said a school’s proximity to her home will not sway her decision.”I’m not leaving because I’m homesick or anything,” Ayana Dunning said. “I’ve kind of had feelings about [transferring] before, and my parents wanted me to stick it through.”While Charlotte and Alfred Dunning wanted Ayana to give LSU a chance, Charlotte Dunning said the best place for her daughter would be a university where the coaching staff was most familiar with her skill.”If she had a bad game or made mistakes, they’d know she would recover and play,” Charlotte Dunning said. “It will probably be to a school where the head coaches have watched her her whole career.”Ayana Dunning said she is confident she gave herself enough time to make the decision. She said the school she chooses must be on the same competitive level as LSU, and she wants to end up in an atmosphere where she feels comfortable forming new relationships with the people around her.”A year is a really long time to learn a lot about people,” Ayana Dunning said. “If I would have made my decision in the middle of the season, then maybe I would have regretted it. Since I’ve been here a year, I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and make sure I’m doing the right thing. I’m really firm in my decision.”Former LSU freshman guard Crystal Riley also left the LSU program in January. Riley transferred to Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky.–Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]