PROVO — When Shengzhe Li, a 6-foot-10 post player from China, signed with BYU last November, it seemed like a great fit for both Li and the program.
But now that the Cougars have a new head coach, Mark Pope, circumstances have changed. On Thursday, Li asked for, and was granted, a release from BYU from his National Letter of Intent.
Jeff Reinert, Li’s coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High in Southern California, said Pope visited with Li once since Pope was named BYU’s coach.
“It’s not so much a negative, it’s that ‘we don’t know each other; let’s see where this goes,’” Reinert said.