The hits keep coming for the ISU men’s basketball team.

ISU coach Greg McDermott announced last Monday that freshman guard Marcus Brister is leaving the team for personal reasons.

Brister will stay at ISU through the semester and return to his home in in Texas at the completion of the fall semester on Dec. 14.

“We respect his decision and understand why he needs to go back to Texas,” McDermott said.

The freshman guard from Dallas, Texas was averaging 2.3 minutes per game during the Cyclones’ first three games of the season. Brister was expected to compete for playing time at the point guard position along with junior Bryan Petersen and freshman Diante Garrett. Petersen and Garrett had received the majority of playing time so far though.

“It impacts us in the sense that we were still evaluating the three point guard position and they all brought some different things,” McDermott said.

“Obviously Bryan and Diante were playing more minutes than Marcus, but I think Marcus could have been a good player over time.”

The departure of Brister adds to a laundry list of problems McDermott has already had to deal with during the season.

In October, the NCAA ruled freshman guard Lucca Staiger ineligible for the 2007-08 season for his participation on a team in Baulstein, Germany. Staiger, who played two seasons with the Ehingen club in Germany, was ruled ineligible because two players on the team received unnecessary stipends for their time on the team, making it a professional organization.

The athletic department is appealing Staiger’s suspension. McDermott said the process was held up last week when a fire struck the NCAA offices and closed their doors for two days while they were reviewing the case.

“What are the odds of that,” he said. “It almost becomes comical. You just have to coach the guys that are available to play the best you can and make sure the guys that are hurt are doing everything necessary to try to get back on the floor.”

Injuries kept senior center Jiri Hubalek on the sidelines for the Cyclones’ first two exhibition games of the year, and sophomore guard Wesley Johnson has been out of action for all three regular season games so far with an injured foot.

Even with the ongoing changes with the team, Petersen said he is getting more comfortable on the floor.

“The more games and the more time you play other opponents besides your team in practice, it’s going to help,” Petersen said.