AJ Ratliff

Bring on the rumor mill.... what do you think is the REAL reason?

Kelvin Sampson made it official early this afternoon that A.J. Ratliff will not return to the Indiana basketball team.

"Both of us agreed that it was in his best interests to focus on himself and to work through his personal issues," the Hoosier coach said in a news release. "We wish him the best."

Ratliff played in 93 career games and averaged 5.8 points.

Ratliff's uncle, Josh Gilbert, confirmed his nephew's decision. He called the decision a mutual one between Ratliff and Sampson. Gilbert praised Sampson's handling of the situation as Ratliff dealt with the "personal issues" and with academic problems during the first semester of this academic year.

Ratliff missed the last two games because of the personal issues. He is expected to remain in school at IU, Gilbert said.

Ratliff was not kicked off the team, according to Gilbert and IU.

After averaging 9.3 points and hitting a team-high 57 3-pointers last season while shooting 40.7 percent on 3s, Ratliff was expected to be a key contributor this year as a senior. But he did not play during the first semester because he was academically ineligible and his season hasn't improved much since then. In nine games, Ratliff averaged 1.7 points.

Four years ago, Ratliff, Indiana's Mr. Basketball, got his start at IU as part of a much-vaunted freshman class that also included D.J. White, Robert Vaden and James Hardy.

His highest scoring game at IU came last season when he had 20 points against Wisconsin, hitting a barrage of second-half 3-pointers to lead the Hoosiers to a memorable win that saw fans at Assembly Hall flood the court in celebration after the final buzzer.