Malik Hines steps away from basketball for personal reasons

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese basketball graduate center, Malik Hines, is stepping away from the Cowboy program for personal reasons, head coach Heath Schroyer said on Tuesday.

“Malik has been dealing with a lot of family issues at home and he is stepping away form the team for the remainder of the year to help deal with those issues,” said Schroyer in a statement. “Malik is a great young man and we wish he and his family nothing but the best moving forward.”

Hines came to McNeese from the University of Massachusetts as a graduate transfer.

He appeared in all 21 games on the season, making 11 starts, and averaged 9.9 points and 4.7 rebounds.

The 6-foot-10 center scored in double-digits nine times on the year with three games at 20 or more points, including a high of 26 in the season opener at Saint Mary’s (CA).