Two leave men's basketball squad

Jared White and Colin Ferguson both saw limited action for the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team last season as true freshmen but were viewed as potential contributors in the future.

That won't happen as Southeast coach Dickey Nutt announced Thursday that the De Soto (Mo.) High School graduates are leaving the program. Nutt believes each will transfer to a junior college although nothing has been confirmed.

"It's always disappointing to lose people out of your program. You just hate that," Nutt said. "But at the end of the day, if you don't want to be here, then you need to find that greener grass. We wish them well.

"Both were very concerned about their playing time. I certainly didn't want them to leave, but I tell my guys every day it's a privilege to be here, like it's a privilege for me to be their coach."

White, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound guard, displayed considerable potential during his only season with the Redhawks and likely would have competed for a solid amount of playing time during the 2013-14 season.

White saw action in 25 of Southeast's 33 games, all off the bench, and averaged 8.3 minutes. He averaged 2.3 points and scored a career-high 10 points during a late-season win at Austin Peay.

Ferguson, a 6-9, 250-pound forward/center, was considered something of a project and never really was a factor last season.

Ferguson played in only 13 games, all off the bench, and averaged 4.8 minutes. He scored a total of 12 points for a 0.9 average.

The departures of White and Ferguson mean that Southeast now has three available scholarships for the 2013-14 campaign.

Bean leaves

Nate Bean, who served as Southeast's director of basketball operations last season while he continued his studies at the university, recently left to become an assistant at NAIA Central Baptist College in Conway, Ark.

Bean had previously served as a student manager under Nutt with the Redhawks.

"He got a great job. We're really proud of him," Nutt said. "He came in as a manager for us and now he's got a full-time assistant position."

Ruben Reyna recently replaced Bean as Southeast's director of basketball operations.

Reyna was director of basketball operations at Missouri-Kansas City last season after serving as a graduate assistant the previous two years. Prior to that he was a student manager with the Kangaroos for two seasons.

"We're excited about Ruben being with us," Nutt said.