SEATTLE — During a season of struggles, Washington women’s basketball fans have at least been able to look at the Huskies’ strong freshman class and dream of a brighter future.
Whatever that future may bring, it won’t include Jess McCormack, Washington coach Tia Jackson announced Tuesday. McCormack, a 6-foot-5 freshman from Auckland, New Zealand, decided over the weekend to leave the program.
McCormack didn’t give a specific reason for her departure, but said that Washington wasn’t the right fit for her.
“It’s just been multiple reasons,” she said. “It’s just kind of added up and just hasn’t worked out to be the right spot for me. It hasn’t felt completely right this whole year and I just want to be comfortable with where I am, and it just hasn’t quite worked out that way, unfortunately.”
McCormack, a member of New Zealand’s national team, will finish winter quarter at Washington, then head home to begin preparing for this summer’s Olympics. She still would have left after this quarter for national team obligations and taken classes online had she not decided to leave the program.
Injuries and illness kept McCormack out of seven games this season, and she has admitted publicly to being homesick, but her decision still surprised Jackson and her players.
“It saddens me to have to report that Jess McCormack is no longer with our women’s basketball program,” Jackson said, reading from a statement. “There are several reasons for this decision and as you can imagine, we are terribly disappointed. Although a complete surprise, I do know that adjusting to college life and being so far away from home was a challenge … We certainly wish Jess all the success in the world, especially in the upcoming 2008 Olympics, and more importantly, we wish her peace of mind and complete happiness as she takes the next step in her life.”
McCormack had tried to get out of her letter of intent when June Daugherty was fired last spring, but her request — and that of Katelan Redmon, now the Huskies’ leading scorer — was denied by the school. Jackson had to re-recruit McCormack and other players in this year’s class, but it appeared on the surface that McCormack and others were happy.
“It’s tough,” McCormack said. “I love this program, I love the girls, and unfortunately it just hasn’t worked out for me. It’s a great program, a great school, I love it. This was very, very hard.”
McCormack said she hasn’t decided on anything beyond the Olympics, but that she might look into transferring to another U.S. college.
“I’m going to go home for the Olympic commitments, continue with that and then talk it over with my parents,” said McCormack, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19 games, 14 of which she started. “Hopefully I’ll come back to the states somewhere, but I have no idea where at this moment.”
McCormack is the second player in Washington’s heralded 2007 recruiting class to leave the program. Guard Candice Nichols left the team before the start of the season and is expected to enroll in a college closer to her native Carson, Calif.
With just four regular season games left, the Huskies now will try to move forward after the unexpected loss of a starter.
“It hit us upside the head,” said sophomore guard Sami Whitcomb. “I didn’t really see it coming at all. We all get along so well, and she’s been such an important part of the team. I don’t think anybody expected it. But of course we want what’s best for her, so it’s a decision she needed to make.”
Bennett back: Freshman center Kali Bennett, who left Sunday’s win against Oregon with a back injury, is expected to be available for this week’s games in Arizona.
“She’s still experiencing a little bit of soreness right now, so we’re going to monitor her throughout the rest of the week and make a decision,” said Jackson. “But do I think she’s out for the weekend? Absolutely not.”
Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog
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