EL PASO, Texas, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Former Louisville center Derrick Caracter has transferred to Texas-El Paso, the El Paso Times reported.
The 6-foot-8 Caracter, a scholastic phenom in Farwood, N.J., was asked not to return to the Cardinals by head coach Rick Pitino after he was suspended multiple times in his two seasons for academic reasons.
UTEP Coach Tony Barbee recruited Caracter while he was an assistant at Memphis and confirmed Caracter's enrollment at the Conference USA school to the newspaper Wednesday.
"He started classes Monday," Barbee said. "He played his first two years at Louisville, and things didn't work out (but) he's a good kid at heart. Like a lot of 19-to-20-year-old kids, we all make mistakes. He's got a year to prepare himself."
At UTEP, Caracter cannot be on scholarship until he gets his grades squared away, but can practice with his new teammates.
Barbee made a similar agreement with Kareem Cooper last year after the 7-footer transferred from Memphis.
