Jordan Railey’s time at Iowa State was a tumultuous one. Two brushes with the law had the sophomore from Beaverton, Ore., in the headlines more than his play on the court.

But with the help of coach Fred Hoiberg, Railey said, he’s grown as a person over the last year and wants to seek a new opportunity to take that growth and show it on the basketball court. With the ISU roster as is, Railey didn’t receive much playing time, and that played the biggest factor in his decision.

“I just really want to have a different opportunity to get myself in a different rotation and get myself more minutes,” Railey said. “Me and coach Hoiberg sat down, talked about it a little bit, and I just kind of came to a consensus that it was probably best for me to go somewhere else and look for playing time elsewhere.”

Railey added that while it would be nice to play closer to home, it’s not something that is necessary for the next school he would choose to go to.

He said most of all, he’ll miss his teammates, who knew of his decision Wednesday night, when he took the time to tell them and let them know where his mind was on why he would leave.

“I talked to a lot of the guys about it that are going to be here next year,” Railey said. “They support my decision. We’re all friends. They understand where I’m coming from. And it’s just the way it evolves sometimes.”

Railey’s transfer was announced on Friday, along with the transfer of freshman Tavon Sledge. Hoiberg said in a statement that Sledge also was seeking playing time at another university.

In the statement, Hoiberg iterated what Railey said, in that the coaching staff plans to help both Railey and Sledge find a new home.

“We certainly appreciate the work and effort Jordan and Tavon have given our program,” Hoiberg said in a news release. “It basically boiled down to playing time for both of them. I had great conversations with Jordan and Tavon after the season ended and we mutually agreed that their chances for increased playing time would be at another school. Jordan and Tavon are great kids and we will do everything we can to assist them finding the right fit.”

While Railey was recruited by multiple schools coming out of high school — Railey said Saint Mary’s was his No. 2 school behind Iowa State — he’s unsure of where he’ll head next. The past, he said, likely won’t play a factor in where he heads next.

Changes in his game and his life, Railey said, mean he’ll go back to the drawing board and not limit himself to schools that were interested in the past.

“As of right now, I haven’t talked to anybody yet. [Associate head coach] T.J. [Otzelberger] has talked to a couple of people, but I haven’t spoken to anybody yet,” Railey said. “It’s more on now. I’m not basing anything on the past. A lot of things have changed. I’ve changed. I’ve become a better player, a different type of player, I’ve become a lot stronger. I think my game has changed just a little bit.

“It’s definitely going to be up to the conversations we have now, not so much in the past.”

Railey said he’s learned a lot from Hoiberg and also mentioned Otzelberger as an influence in his life. 

He said that despite wanting to leave the program, he hopes to keep a positive relationship with both Hoiberg and Otzelberger, who he said was helping him find a new program to go to.

“I’ve learned a lot from [Hoiberg],” Railey said. “He’s been a great advocate, like if I need to go to him I can talk to him about anything. I look forward to somewhere down the line being able to still stay in contact with the coaching staff here at Iowa State, because they’re a great group of guys.

“I think I’ve grown as a person here. And I’m going to miss a lot of the guys on the team.”