Senior guard L.J. Rose has announced his intention to leave the Cougars men’s basketball program prior to his senior season, joining redshirt junior guard Ronnie Johnson, who announced his departure last week. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

Athletics announced on Tuesday that senior guard L.J. Rose has decided to leave the men’s basketball team to finish his collegiate career with a different team in the 2016-17 season.

Rose sat out most of last season due to health reasons, playing in just two games, and spent a lot of time over the past two seasons sidelined with injuries.

During his time at UH, Rose averaged 9 points per game and added 5.3 assists per game. Rose was a transfer who joined the Cougars before the 2013-14 season after transferring from Baylor University.

“I have learned a lot in the last two years under Coach Sampson,” Rose said in a news release. “He held me accountable, on and off the court, and he helped me. I have had a lot of coaches in my career, but I will always remember Coach Sampson and his assistant coaches for the impact they had on my life.”

Rose is the second Cougar to leave the program this off-season. Redshirt junior guard Ronnie Johnson received his release from the program last week.

“There is nobody in our program that I have more respect for than L.J.,” head coach Kelvin Sampson said in a news release. “The way that he has handled the adversity of injury has made him a better person with a stronger will to succeed.”

Johnson was also a transfer student who came to UH from Purdue University in the first year of the Sampson era. He spent the 2014-15 season as a redshirt due to transfer rules.

This season, Johnson played in all but one game. He started 13 games, averaging 9.4 points per game and 2.9 assists per game.

“I want to thank my teammates in Houston for the last two years,” Johnson said in a news release. “I learned a lot and developed my game under coach Sampson and his coaches, but I believe it will be best for my career to be a senior leader at another school.”

With those two departures from the program, the men’s basketball program will have just four guards left on the roster,: sophomore Wes VanBeck, freshman Galen Robinson Jr., sophomore Rob Gray Jr. and junior Damyean Dotson.

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“Senior announces departure from men’s basketball program” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar