Indiana coaching search: Tony Bennett sees four players leave Virginia in two days

If you’re into reading the tea leaves, Virginia has offered many leaves to read over the past two days.

On Wednesday, a pair of Virginia men's basketball players, Marial Shayok and Jarred Reuter, announced they will be transferring from the University of Virginia. Now, another basketball player can be added to that list as Darius Thompson will also be transferring from the program. In addition to these three transfers, former Virginia forward Austin Nichols will also be leaving the program to enter the draft.

Thompson is the newest addition to the mass exodus at Virginina, and he averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 assists in 70 career games during the two seasons he played at UVA. Thompson will be leaving as graduate transfer. As a result, Thompson will not have to sit out next year after he transfers.

Shayok had been with Virginia for three seasons and in that time he averaged 5.7 points and 2 rebounds in 103 career games. In addition, Shayok also had 23 starts, proving his impact at UVA.

Reuter appeared in 58 games during his two seasons at UVA. He averaged 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in eight minutes per game. Reuter still has two years of eligibility remaining.

The last of the departures comes from Austin Nichols. Nichols is a unique case, because he only played one game for Virginia before being dismissed from the program. Nichols scored 11 points in his only official appearance, but it’s worth at least noting his existence with the program. Nichols will be signing with an agent and entering the draft.

With speculation rampant around the search for the next Indiana basketball coach, it’s important to keep your eyes on potential candidates and the programs that they are at. Without any reasoning being provided for the three transfers, individuals are now left to question the motives and the impact.

None of this is Indiana basketball news, but it’s definitely worth paying attention too. Nobody has been made publicly aware of why these three players are transferring, but one would have to think that Tony Bennett had some sort of an impact on the decision.

Even if Bennett didn’t have a direct impact on the moves, there is no question about the fact that Virginia will now be playing with a weaker roster next season. All of this is worth considering as the search for the next Indiana basketball coach continues.