Chaney latest to leave Utes

Already depleted following the departure of four underclassmen in the spring, the Utah men's basketball team will be even more short-handed this season after another key player announced he is leaving the program.

Richard Chaney, a 6-foot-4 swingman who started 48 games in three seasons for the Utes, surprised Ute coaches with his decision Monday.

"Obviously, the timing of this is not great for us, but we will grant Richard his request," said Utah coach Ray Giacoletti. "We wish him the best of luck."

The Los Angeles native would have been a senior with the Utes this season. He likely wasn't ticketed for a starting spot, which may have played a part in his decision, but would have given a young Ute team a lot of experience off the bench. The Utes will have just 10 scholarship players this winter.

Chaney preferred not to answer media requests but made a statement through the Utah sports information office. He said he planned to transfer to Indiana, where former Ute assistant Kerry Rupp is an assistant coach. Chaney will have one year of eligibility remaining after sitting out for a season.

"I had a great time here (at Utah)," Chaney said. "The fans were great to me, and I'm not leaving because of them. I didn't mean to disappoint anyone. The last three years have been a great experience. The coaching staff and my teammates have been great, this has nothing to do with them. It's just time for me to move on somewhere else and get a fresh start."

While Ute coaches were caught off guard by Chaney's decision, they are confident they have good players in the program who can fill in.

Chaney played the same position as Bryant Markson, who fit Giacoletti's style of play better and flourished after getting the opportunity to play when Chaney was injured. Chaney's game was more suited to the structured style of former coach Rick Majerus and most of his numbers went down last season.

Chaney started 10 of the first 11 games for the Utes last season before breaking his left hand in practice in late December. After coming back from his injury, Chaney didn't contribute nearly as much to the Utes as he had previously.

Over the final 17 games, he scored in double figures just three times, the same number of games he went scoreless, and averaged just 5.1 points a game on 42 percent shooting. He was just 2-of-13 from 3-point range.

For his career at Utah, Chaney averaged 7.6 points on 46.9 percent shooting and 74.4 percent from the free throw line.