Ben Carter released from scholarship, will likely transfer to UNLV

On Friday morning, Oregon head coach Dana Altman confirmed that sophomore forward Ben Carter will transfer from Oregon. Along with Carter, freshman guard A.J. Lapray, who played in two games this season, will also transfer. Carter will likely transfer back home to UNLV, while Lapray announced he will transfer to Pepperdine.

As a freshman, Carter appeared in all 37 games for Oregon, averaging 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 12 points against UNLV that year. This season, Carter averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, appearing in 25 games.

As you might recall, Carter missed the first nine games of the season after selling team-issued sneakers. Dominic Artis was also suspended for the same reason.

Once Mike Moser jumped ahead of Carter in the rotation this season, it became clear that Carter would likely never see significant playing time. Moser, who transferred from UNLV, became a vital key for the Ducks this season, averaged 13.2 points per game, second to Joseph Young who averaged 18.9 points per game.

With the departure of Carter and Lapray, the Ducks now have one available scholarship spot open. Before Lapray transferred, the Ducks were actually over the limit when it came to scholarship players on the roster, leading many to speculate that Joseph Young would leave early for the NBA. Young wound up staying with the Ducks. Now, with six returning players and six newcomers, Altman may add another player to the team if he so chooses as the Ducks are under the limit of 13 scholarship players.

A scholarship opened up at UNLV recently when junior forward Roscoe Smith declared for the NBA Draft. If Carter were to transfer to UNLV, he would have to sit out the year due to NCAA transfer rules.

Carter tweeted out his gratitude to his coaches, teammates and fans on Friday morning:

I wanted to thank everyone for the support over the last two years. The coaches, all my teammates, and the fan base were all great to me.

— Ben Carter (@Ben_Carter32) April 11, 2014