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Bennett leaving Washington
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Kali Bennett wanted to give it a year.
The freshman center wanted to play an entire season with the Washington women's basketball team before determining if it was the right fit.
Bennett was recruited to Washington by June Daughtery, but Daugherty was fired and replaced by Tia Jackson before Bennett arrived.
Bennett, a Ventura High graduate, decided last Thursday to leave the Huskies program and begin exploring a transfer to another school.
"Seeing how the program was run and seeing how I felt in that style of play and Coach Jackson's philosophy, it just didn't add up," Bennett said. "It was a different program than what I signed up for, and I couldn't picture myself playing basketball the next three years."
Bennett appeared in 30 of Washington's 31 games last season, averaging 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 10.5 minutes of play.
Washington teammate Sami Whitcomb said the team was surprised by the timing of Bennett's decision more than anything.
"Earlier in the year she expressed some interest in maybe wanting to leave, but then as the year played out we were under the impression she was happy now and was going to stay," said Whitcomb, a Buena High graduate. "It was like she realized: Yes college was hard and will be hard anywhere, but she can do it if she put her mind to it."
Bennett said she hasn't determined what schools she would be interested in transferring to in the fall. She will have to sit out a year if she transfers to another Division I program, and would need a waiver to transfer to another Pacific-10 program without losing a year of eligibility. She will remain at Washington until she finishes classes in June.
"I think the hardest part of this for me was telling my teammates another one is leaving because now they are down to seven players," said Bennett, one of four members of Washington's 2007 recruiting class to leave. "They were really supportive, and said I had to do what was best for me and made me happy."
Posted by BigJake on April 24, 2008 at 1:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good for you Kali. I played 4-years in a college program that I hated. Those days should have been a wonderful memory. I should have transferred; to this day I know I should have transferred. College athletics is about being in a program that is fun for you. As soon as it becomes drudgery, it is time to look else where.
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