Utah State denies transfer of forward David Collette


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LOGAN — Utah State has denied the release of former forward David Collette from his scholarship, making the former Murray High standout ineligible to receive financial aid for one year following a move to another institution, according to a report first issued by ESPN.com late Tuesday night.

First-year Aggie head coach Tim Duryea confirmed that Collette has not been released following his team's win over Utah Valley University Tuesday.

Collette, a redshirt sophomore who was the team's No. 2 scorer and rebounder last year, left the team just two days before the Aggies' season-opening 73-70 win over Weber State.

Duryea took over for longtime head coach Stew Morrill in the offseason, but Collette made no indication he would transfer at the time of the longtime assistant's promotion. Collette told Duryea of his intentions two days before Utah State's season opener against the Wildcats and just a few days after the Aggies lost an exhibition game to Cal State Monterey Bay in Logan.

Collette told ESPN's Andy Katz that he left the team over "multiple issues" with Duryea, including an alleged incident in practice in which a player "sucker-punched another in the back of the head."

The former Aggie forward then said his financial aid was canceled for the remainder of the semester, and Utah State blocked any transfer request, regardless of the institution.

JoJo McGlaston (24) and David Collette (13) of Utah State defend Christian Wood (5) of UNLV during NCAA basketball in Logan, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Both Utah State players left the team prior to the 2015-16 season. (Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News)
JoJo McGlaston (24) and David Collette (13) of Utah State defend Christian Wood (5) of UNLV during NCAA basketball in Logan, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Both Utah State players left the team prior to the 2015-16 season. (Photo: Ravell Call, Deseret News)

Utah State responded to the ESPN.com report in a written statement to the media outlet.

"Utah State University has followed all applicable NCAA procedures and applied consistent internal practices in declining the request for release," the statement read. "David Collette chose to leave Utah State two days prior to its season-opening contest, which hamstrung the team in terms of recruiting a new player to that position or even practicing with other players for that position. The timing of David's decision to leave the team is the reason Utah State is handling his release this way. There were never any other restrictions put on his release."

School's regularly impose limitations on transfer requests for players, such as other in-conference universities and regional or in-state rivals. Collette told ESPN he plans to finish the semester at Utah State and then transfer to a school of his choice.

In an email to the Worldwide Leader in Sports, Utah State confirmed only that "there was an incident in practice, and the athletics director and others within the athletics department were informed."

"Punishment for the incident was handed out and seen through," the statement read.

Collette averaged 12.8 points and five rebounds per game a year ago as a redshirt freshman, and he was expected to be a key contributor to this year's team that returned all five starters from Morrill's final season.

Collette plans to appeal the decision, and Duryea said Tuesday night that the school has 15 days to hold a hearing over the incident. But if the appeal does not overturn Utah State's decision, he would be ineligible to receive athletic financial aid from another school for one full year.

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