CEDAR FALLS - Northern Iowa basketball coach Ben Jacobson announced today that Brent Barz has left the program.

The 6-foot-10 Johnston native, who was redshirting this season, has not practiced or been on the bench with the team for home games the past couple of weeks.

"After a lot of time talking with Brent and his family, it's best for Brent personally and our program to move forward and have him no longer be part of our basketball program," Jacobson said before practice Monday. "There's no hard feelings either way. Brent is in great standing with me and good standing with our program."

After talking with Barz and his parents, Jacobson was uncertain of Barz's desire to play college basketball.

"He has some decisions to make about his future," Jacobson said. "Right now, he's unsure of what he wants to do."

Barz turned down scholarship offers from Iowa State, Drake and Illinois State to attend UNI. He averaged 19.1 points and 11.5 rebounds last season for 16-7 Johnston.

Jacobson said it's difficult for an all-state high school player to come in and redshirt.

"Our expectations are the same for everybody," Jacobson said. "I have the same expectations for Jared (Josten), who is our starter and plays 35 minutes, as I do for guys that redshirt. The expectations are the same in terms of going to class and representing our program in a positive manner. Redshirting isn't easy. That certainly played a part in it, but it's more than that."

Jacobson said Barz will finish out the semester at UNI, but is uncertain if he'll play basketball after that.

"He's unsure," Jacobson said. "Right now, he's unsure of what his next step is going to be."

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com