Register Parting Ways With Ragin’ Cajuns Basketball

The Ragin' Cajuns granted Hayward Register's request to depart from the team Wednesday, which means they're down a shooting guard.

Head Coach Bob Marlin was actually on the road when the news broke, so his statement was short and to the point.

"Hayward has asked for and has been granted his release for next season. We wish him well in his future endeavors," Marlin stated.

Register averaged 6.7 points and 13.8 minutes per game last season, so it's not like the Cajuns are losing a non-contributor.

With eight other guards/three-point shooters on the roster for next year, maybe Register saw a log jam at the position that would keep him off the floor. The junior shooting guard took to Twitter before the official statement from the university was released. The first tweet came on Tuesday.

The day of the announcement, Register got the word out before the university. It wasn't an official statement from the coach, but it wasn't hard to read between these lines.

With only one year of eligibility left, his next step is unclear. If he wants to continue playing Division-I basketball, he will have to sit out a year or find a "smaller" school to play at. His ability to shoot the three point shot will assure him a landing spot somewhere, and Marlin decided to let him go pursue other options.

His teammates are taking it in stride. Shawn Long is leaving the Cajuns too, on his way to a professional career in basketball. He took a moment to wish Register good luck on Twitter, and he told him to "keep shooting."

Jay Wright and Johnathan Stove will be back leading the backcourt next year. There are a few transfers/redshirts (Frank Bartley, Kadavion Evans, Jerekius Davis) that the coaching staff is excited about, then you add in some talented freshmen coming in. The Cajuns should be fine at the guard position next season, so the only thing left is to wish Register luck at his next stop down the trail.

How many people saw this coming though? There are probably some surprised members of Cajun Nation after this announcement.