Senior Jose Perez leaving Arizona State for “personal” reasons

TEMPE, Ariz. — Graduate transfer Jose Perez announces he is leaving Arizona State basketball on Sunday due to “personal family circumstances.”

Perez posted on his Instagram announcing his goodbye. Perez thanked all of ASU and says there’s “no hard feelings” between him and anyone at Arizona State. According to his post, Perez wants to “get a head start” on his journey post-college.

“He’s decided to take a position overseas so he’ll be playing overseas the remainder of the season,” head coach Bobby Hurley said following ASU’s road loss to UCLA.

Jose Perez leaves Arizona State basketball to get started on pro career

Perez’s career totals with ASU were 406 points, along with 115 rebounds, 28 steals, nine blocks, and 47 turnovers. In his final game with ASU, Perez scored 25 points against ASU’s loss to USC 81-73. The graduate student did not play in ASU’s final game of the regular season against UCLA, where the Sun Devils lost 59-47.

Against UCLA the Sun Devil offense looked lost, especially in halfcourt situations without Perez. The New York native has been one of the Sun Devils’ most consistent scoring options. He will no doubt be missed in the Pac-12 tournament this week.

ASU was Perez’s fifth school, as he played for teams such as Gardner-Webb, Marquette, Manhattan, and West Virginia. In his career at ASU alone, Perez scored at least 20 points eight times, the most on the team.

Shortly after his departure, the senior guard played his first pro game with Plaza Valerio at the Santiago Superior Basketball Tournament in the Dominican Republic.

Perez totaled eight points and went 3-11 from the field with five rebounds and four assists in his first game as a professional.