Paradoski leaves Redhawks program

~ The junior guard has been granted his release from Southeast.

Paul Paradoski would have been Southeast Missouri State's most experienced basketball player by far next year, having started 66 games in his first three college seasons.

But Paradoski will not add to that total.

It has been widely rumored for some time that he was considering a transfer, and the junior point guard said Sunday that he has made it official.

Paradoski said he recently asked for and was granted his release from Southeast, meaning he is now free to transfer to another school for his final season of eligibility.

If he transfers to another Division I university, he would have to sit out a year before becoming eligible. But he would be eligible next season if he transfers to a non-Division I school, which he said he will most likely do.

Paradoski said he will probably play his final college season in the St. Louis area, where he grew up and attended high school.

"I wouldn't totally rule out another D-I [school], but most likely it will be D-II," said Paradoski, who indicated that coaches from Division II Missouri-St. Louis have already contacted him.

He said the main reason he will not finish his collegiate career at Southeast is because his playing time dwindled after he suffered an injury early this season.

He started 53 games in his first two seasons, leading the Ohio Valley Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman, and started the first 10 games of his junior campaign. But a knee injury during a December practice caused him to miss four games and freshman Roderick Pearson replaced him in the starting lineup.

Paradoski never really got his job back as he made just three starts the rest of the season. He wound up averaging 20.9 minutes per game after averaging 34.5 minutes last season.

"Basically, I want to play and not watch," said Paradoski, who will finish out the semester at Southeast. "I proved myself my first 2 1/2 years here, and once I hurt my knee I never got back in the mix. I just wasn't having fun."

Paradoski had more than twice as many assists as turnovers during his career, and this year had the Redhawks' best assist-to-turnover ratio with 63 assists against 31 turnovers.

Paradoski, who averaged 3.5 points per game this year and four points per game in his career, said he harbors no ill will toward Southeast coach Scott Edgar, who recently completed his first season.

"He told me he regretted my decision, but we went out on good terms," Paradoski said. "It was not an easy decision because I've made so many friends here. But I think this is best for me, and I'm looking forward to playing my last year back in St. Louis."