ISU guard Lucca Staiger has announced that he will leave the Cyclones and return to his native Germany.

“I came to the United States with the hope of playing professional basketball in the NBA. After the past couple of seasons in college, I’ve realized that dream has become less likely,” Staiger said in a statement released Tuesday night. “An opportunity to play professionally in my home country has come my way and I’ve decided to pursue it right away. I will miss my teammates and the great fans at Iowa State and I know this is a bad time to leave. I appreciate the opportunity that Coach McDermott gave me to play at Iowa State, but I felt like it was important to make this move now because the opportunity might not be there in the future for me.”

Staiger started all 17 games this season for the Cyclones and averaged 9.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Staiger shot over 42 percent for Iowa State this season, which ranks third for the Cyclones who have shot a minimum of 30 three-pointers. In Iowa State’s last game against Nebraska, Staiger compiled seven points, six of which came from three-pointers.

According to the Des Moines Register reporter Randy Peterson, McDermott stated, “I am very disappointed with the timing of his decision but we really don’t have any choice but to move forward with the guys that want to be here.”

Staiger had spoken of previous notions to remain in Germany to play professionally before returning to Ames last Spring. Staiger spent the summer of 2009 playing for the German A1 National Team at the European Championships in Poland. He averaged five points and shot 57.1 percent from three-point land in Germany’s six games of the tournament.

In his first year with the Cyclones in 2007-08, Staiger was unable to play with the team, and could only practice due to a ruling by the NCAA Amateur Certification Process. In 2008, he was a member of the U20 FIBA European Division B Championship team and averaged 10.3 ponts per game, while leading the team in three-pointers. Last season, in his first year as a contributor in the Cyclone lineup, Staiger started 27 games and was named Big 12 Rookie of the Year on two occasions. The Blaustein, Germany import led the Cyclones from beyond the arc in the 2008-09 season, compiling a season-high 74 treys.

“My guess is that you don’t make a decision like this over night,” McDermott said. “He’s scheduled to fly back to Germany Saturday. My guess is you do not schedule an overseas flight on short notice.

“My guess is that this has been in the works for a few weeks.”

ISU coach Greg McDermott has announced he will not comment any further on this issue.