Utah guard leaves team

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah guard Marshall Henderson is leaving the team after just one season, joining three other players to depart the program in the last two weeks.

Henderson released a statement through the school Wednesday, saying he wants to be closer to home in Texas, where he was a high school star before joining the Utes last fall as a freshman. Henderson also says he didn't feel coach Jim Boylen's strict rules and restrictions fit with his "individualism."

Henderson's 305 field goal attempts were second only to leading scorer Carlon Brown, who asked for and was granted his release last week. Reserves Matt Read and Jordan Cyphers were also allowed out of their commitments in late March.

Boylen said that each player's situation was different and declined to get into specifics.

"When you're building a program, there's decisions that have to be made. The decision here is to move forward with guys we have and the guys we've recruited," Boylen told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Henderson was Utah's second-leading scorer at 11.8 points per game and made 65 of 194 3-pointers while starting in 30 of 31 games. The only game he missed was when he was suspended for fighting late in the Utes' loss at BYU on Jan. 30.

The Utes have five freshmen coming in this fall, giving Boylen 12 players on the roster with room for a few more for late recruits.

Utah went 14-17 this season, one year after tying for the Mountain West regular season title and winning the conference tournament.

Boylen is 56-42 in three seasons at Utah. He admits his standards are high, but he makes it clear to his players that they have to live by his policies if they are going to play for him.

"I think we're heading in the right direction," Boylen said. "Just because you have adversity doesn't mean you don't believe in where you're going."