Iowa basketball player to leave program

IOWA CITY - Iowa forward Darius Stokes was celebrated with three other players on Senior Night on March 8. But unlike his teammates, Stokes still has basketball eligibility.

Stokes plans to leave Iowa and play basketball as a fifth-year graduate student for another school next year. He will be immediately eligible.

"I'm looking into a few schools," Stokes said. "Probably in the next couple of weeks I'll visit a few schools and talk to a few coaches. Coach (Fran) McCaffery and Coach (Kirk) Speraw have been very helpful in helping me find a place for next year. I'm excited."

Stokes, who stands 6-foot-7, averaged 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds as a senior with Linn-Mar. He was invited as a walk-on and joined the Iowa program in 2010. He red-shirted his first year and earned a one-year scholarship for the 2013-14 season.

Stokes played sparingly over three seasons, appearing in 38 games, totaling 15 points and pulling down 28 rebounds. Stokes played in 14 games this year, scoring three points and grabbing four rebounds. In multiple games he was used as a defensive specialist late in the first half.

With help from Iowa's training staff, Stokes has filled out and boasts impressive athletic ability. He's the son of Iowa legend Greg Stokes, who ranks third all-time in Iowa scoring with 1,768 points.

"Coming in I was probably like (165 pounds), now I'm like 205 now," Stokes said. "So I've definitely put on a ton in the weight room. Just to go out every day in practice against great players, I think, has really helped my game. I think next year I'm going to get a chance to show that."