DeForrest Riley-Smith played in 10 games for Ed DeChellis' Nittany Lions in their non-conference slate. In five of those games, he played all 40 minutes, mainly at small forward.

So imagine DeChellis' surprise when Riley-Smith told him that he would be leaving the program, not a month after denying rumors that he was seeking a transfer.

Citing off-the-court problems, the sophomore swingman announced he would not be returning to the team for the Big Ten season and officially transferred to Xavier the following week.

"I feel like I need a change," Riley-Smith said in a press release. "This is not a good fit for me as far as the environment goes. If I could put this basketball program, Coach DeChellis and my teammates in a box and take them with me, I would. I wish my teammates all the best of luck the rest of the season."

Riley-Smith has become the third member of the team to jump ship since DeChellis took over as head coach last spring and the second since the season began. Guards Sharif Chambliss, who transferred to

Wisconsin, and Brandon Cameron were the first two to leave.

And while the departure of Cameron was more of a short-term blow to a team with precious little depth to begin with, the defection of Riley-Smith will hurt the Lions for the future as well.

With DeChellis already getting verbal commitments from guards Danny Morrissey and Mike Walker, the writing was on the wall for Cameron. Riley-Smith, however, would likely have started his entire tenure with the Lions.

Riley-Smith was the team's leading assist man and second-leading scorer and rebounder. The Lions now have no small forward on scholarship and lost a player who could provide some modicum of depth behind freshman guards Ben Luber and Marlon Smith, both of whom have played 40 minute games in his absence.

DeChellis has said that he believes that Riley-Smith's reasons for leaving weren't basketball-related, given that he traveled with the team over Christmas to play in a tournament at New Mexico.

"There's not much you can say," DeChellis said. "I was just honest with the team and told them that he wasn't happy and it wasn't about basketball."

With Riley-Smith gone, DeChellis may have to take drastic measures should either of his rookie guards get into foul trouble or get injured. Junior forward Jan Jagla may have to be ready to provide some minutes at shooting guard, should the need arise. The Lions' current depth at the position rests in walk-ons Rob Fletcher and Dan Adler.

Though the team has played well in their three games without Riley-Smith, the challenge for the team now becomes focusing on the season while dealing with the loss both on and off the court.

"Me and DeForrest were close -- me and B-Cam [Cameron] were close," forward Rob Summers said. "They're close friends of mine and I talk to them on a regular basis now, but personally I'm just trying to get better and try to help this team win."