Walk-on guard Garrett Luinstra to leave KU basketball team after one season

Kansas non-scholarship basketball player Garrett Luinstra has entered his name in the transfer portal and will leave KU’s team after one season, KU coach Bill Self confirmed to The Star on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore-to-be combo guard out of Lawrence Free State High, who played 11 minutes total at KU in 2018-19, set the Firebirds’ single-season scoring record with 456 points in 2017-18. He averaged 19.0 points a game and helped the Firebirds to a 19-6 record and spot in the Kansas Class 6A state title game.

Luinstra, who reportedly is seeking a spot where he can return to playing major minutes, is hoping to land at a Division I school if possible, a source indicates. It’s possible he could drop down a division in search of major minutes.

Luinstra, a first-team all-state pick and Sunflower League player of the year his senior campaign, entered 10 games as a freshman at KU. He was 0-for-3 shooting with three assists and one turnover.

Luinstra’s father, Brian Luinstra, was a trainer at Oklahoma State and was one of 10 individuals who died in the Jan. 27, 2001 men’s basketball plane crash.

KU has three walk-on guards on the 2019-20 team: Chris Teahan, Elijah Elliott and Michael Jankovich.

This story was originally published June 4, 2019 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Walk-on guard Garrett Luinstra to leave KU basketball team after one season."