Rice freshman forward Ahmad Ibrahim has withdrawn from school and plans to pursue a professional basketball career back home in Lebanon.
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Ahmad Ibrahim, right, averaged 6.2 points in 33 games last season. (Karen Warren/Chronicle)
Ibrahim, a 6-6 forward who was born in Beirut, has not decided which team he will play for.
“I’m definitely leaving,” Ibrahim told the Houston Chronicle.
Ibrahim joins freshmen Dylan Ennis (Villanova) and Jarelle Reischel (Rhode Island) and sophomore forward David Chadwick (Valparaiso) to leave the program since the end of the season.
“Rice has been a great school and I’ve learned a lot,” Ibrahim said. “The coaches have been great. I just want to go a different way.”
Ibrahim averaged 6.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 33 games last season. He had a season-high 23 points against Tulane.
“Ahmad has an opportunity to purse a professional career in his home town and be closer to his family,” Rice coach Ben Braun said. “We appreciate his contributions during his time at Rice and we wish him success as he begins this new phase of his career.”
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