Chaise Daniels to take leave of absence from Quinnipiac

Chaise Daniels, thought of to be Quinnipiac's best player entering season, will take personal leave from program just weeks before Bobcats begin MAAC play. (Photo by Vincent Simone/NYC Buckets)

Quinnipiac's work in progress continues on.

After following up a 21-point loss to Lafayette with a thrilling victory over Columbia, which was then erased by a close loss to Hartford, it was announced Saturday that the Bobcats would be without the services of senior forward Chaise Daniels for the foreseeable future, as the Connecticut native is taking a personal leave from the program.

"At this time, Chaise Daniels is taking a personal leave from our men's basketball team," head coach Baker Dunleavy said in a statement. "Our program will continue to support him through this process."

A native of Meriden, Connecticut, a short distance from Quinnipiac's Hamden campus, Daniels had been averaging 13.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, with the former enough to solidify him as the Bobcats' second-leading scorer behind Cameron Young. However, things appeared to take a different turn in Thursday's loss to Hartford, as Daniels was benched in the second half and only registered 13 minutes, showing his frustration by throwing a chair after being given the hook, as was reported by Dylan Fearon of Q30 Television in Hamden.

Initially rumored to be transferring out of the program along with Mikey Dixon and Peter Kiss after Dunleavy was hired as Tom Moore's successor at the end of March, Daniels had a change of heart and decided to stick it out for his final campaign. His return paved the way for a preseason all-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference third team selection, but the 6-foot-9 forward may not have been the best fit for Dunleavy's offensive scheme, which is very similar to the four-guard attack he helped Jay Wright hone to perfection as an assistant at Villanova before taking over at Quinnipiac. In the Bobcats' last four contests, Daniels has only averaged 19 minutes per game while Abdulai Bundu and Jacob Rigoni, the latter of whom posted a career-high 20 points in the victory against Columbia, have taken on a greater role.

This story will be updated as more details become available.