We heard the rumors toward the end of the season. But Malik Story told reporters after IU’s season ending loss to Penn State that he was planning to stick around for another season in Bloomington. Here’s a refresher of what he told Herald Times reporter Jared Poertner immediately after the season ended:

“I’m going to be here. A lot of people say I’m not going to be here, (but) I love my teammates, love my coaches and love this place.”

Not so fast. The freshman wing from California has decided to transfer. Our friend Chris Korman of the H-T/Hoosier Scoop broke the story and has the confirmation from Tom Crean:

“I support Malik and his family’s decision to go to a school that is closer to home. As a parent, I understand the need to be close to family. We have encouraged Malik to continue to take advantage of getting his individual workouts in with our team and to utilize the academic support system he has here at Indiana until the end of the semester.”

This is probably a smart move for Story. If he truly wants to be closer to home, that’s certainly understandable. Bloomington is a far different world from Los Angeles. And furthermore, he likely would have been buried on the depth chart next season behind guys like Nick Williams, Maurice Creek and Christian Watford. For now, we say so long to you, Malik Story. We hardly knew ye.