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Logan • Two weeks after quitting Utah State's basketball team, sophomore center-forward David Collette has not been released from his scholarship, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned.

Collette, the Aggies' No. 2 scorer from a year ago, told head coach Tim Duryea on Nov. 11 that he planned to leave the team. Two nights later, the Aggies opened their season with a 73-70 win at Weber State.

On Tuesday night, Utah State improved to 4-0 with an 81-55 victory over Utah Valley at the Spectrum.

After the win, Duryea confirmed that Collette has been "denied release from his scholarship." Collette has appealed Duryea's decision to a committee headed by Utah State athletic faculty representative Ed Heath.

"We have up to 15 business days to hold that hearing," Duryea said. "… The committee will review the situation and make the final decision. They will either uphold our decision or grant his release. They don't recommend something to us. They make the decision."

If Collette does not receive his release from Utah State, he cannot receive athletic aid from another school for one year.

"… It does not prohibit him from enrolling," Duryea said. "It does not prohibit him from getting federal aid."

Collette, through a representative, declined to speak to The Tribune on Tuesday, but he told ESPN he had numerous issues with Duryea — including a charge that the first-year Aggie coach downplayed an incident in which a USU teammate sucker punched another teammate in the back of the head.

In a statement sent to ESPN, USU acknowledged an incident occurred at practice, and that it was handled internally, and that athletic department officials were made aware of it.

"Punishment for the incident was handed out and seen through," the statement said.

Collette's departure has been contentious from Day 1.

In a statement released by the school hours after the Tribune reported Collette's decision to transfer, Duryea was upset.

"I was shocked when he came into my office … and said he was going to quit," he said. "I think there were a lot of factors in play that, unfortunately, have become a trend in college basketball — schools poaching other school's players. I don't feel good and don't like how things transpired. But we will move on."

Coming into the season, Collette was one of five returning starters at Utah State, which finished 18-13 overall and 11-7 in the Mountain West last season.

A graduate of Murray High School, Collette averaged 12.8 points and five rebounds per game as a redshirt freshman. Collette played in Utah State's two exhibition games this season — an 87-48 win over Panhandle State and a 77-60 loss to Cal State-Monterey Bay. He had 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting over Panhandle. He scored 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting against CSMB.

In the preseason, Collette was bothered by what Duryea called a "severe" ankle sprain — one that also resulted in tightness in his Achilles and a "hot spot" on the outside of his foot. X-rays and MRIs did not indicated any unexpected damage, however.

Twitter: @sluhm —

Storylines

• Former Utah State center David Collette has not been released from his scholarship.

• Collette left the team on Nov. 11.

• Utah State improved to 4-0 on Tuesday night with an 81-55 victory over Utah Valley. For more on the game, go to sltrib.com/sports