Forward Tristan Etienne Leaves Washington Huskies Program

Freshman Forward Tristan Etienne announced today that he has left the Washington Huskies basketball program.  Etienne did not explain why only citing personal reasons for the move.

Though Etienne says his departure is due to personal reasons, he may have left the team due to a medical one.  He was diagnosed with atrial septal defect and had to undergo heart surgery on January 11, 2012.  He eventually returned to the basketball court and earned a scholarship to Washington.

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Etienne will remain at the university until the end of fall and has shown no interest in transferring.

The loss of the 6’9 Etienne leaves the Huskies even thinner at the forward position than before.  Desmond Simmons transferred to Saint Mary’s, leaving Shawn Kemp, Jr., Jernard Jarreau, Robert Upshaw, and Gilles Dierickx as the only true big men Washington possesses.

Head coach Lorenzo Romar released a statement that was distributed by Washington.

“We are truly sorry to see Tristan leave us,” Romar’s statement reads. “In his short time here, he has been a model citizen and shown to be a high level student.”

With the forward position already lacking depth even with Etienne, the Huskies will depend even more heavily on Nigel Williams-Goss and Andrew Andrews to produce wins for the team.  Even if Jarreau and Upshaw can improve and gel quickly, foul trouble or injury to either will significantly diminish the impact of the forward position on the Huskies.

Percy Allen of the Seattle Times first reported the story.