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Report: Chip Armelin seeks transfer from Minnesota, room freed for Trevor Mbakwe

ChipArmelin

And the college basketball transfer train makes a stop in Minnesota.

TwinCities.com is reporting that, according to a source, Minnesota sophomore guard Chip Armelin wants out of the Gopher to have an opportunity to move closer to home.

Armelin is originally from Louisiana and attended Sulphur High School in Sulphur, La.

The move is not done yet, the site reports, as Armelin has not yet been released from his scholarship.

In his sophomore season with the Gophers, he averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in over 13 minutes per game.

He reached his career-high in scoring March 3 against Nebraska, when he went for 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three-point range.

Tubby Smith’s Minnesota team finished 23-15 and made a run all the way to the NIT title game, before losing to Stanford.

Before committing to Minnesota, Armelin drew interest from schools that included Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Southern Mississippi, UTEP, and Oregon.

TwinCities.com lists Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and McNeese State as possible destinations for the sophomore.

If he were to transfer, it would free up a scholarship on the Gopher roster, which could be given to forward Trevor Mbakwe, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last season but was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

A decision on whether Mbakwe will return is still to be made and Minnesota has applied for an extra scholarship to accommodate Mbakwe, even if Armelin or another player does not leave the program and free up a scholarship.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_