CHAMPAIGN — Newcomers will now officially outnumber returning scholarship players at Illinois for the 2018-19 season. Freshman forward Matic Vesel has decided to leave the program and return to his native Slovenia to puruse other opportunities, Illinois spokesman Derrick Burson confirmed to The News-Gazette.
Vesel played in 16 games in the 2017-18 season and averaged 0.4 points and 0.5 rebounds in limited action. The 6-foot-10 forward saw just 70 total minutes of playing time for the season.
Vesel's departure gives Illinois two open scholarships for next season after signing five-star guard Ayo Dosunmu in November and five players — Giorgi Bezhanishvili, Andres Feliz, Alan Griffin, Tevian Jones and Samba Kane — when the spring signing period opened two weeks ago.