TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State guard Jose Perez has left the men's basketball team to play overseas.
Perez did not play in the Sun Devils' 59-47 loss to UCLA on Saturday night and will not be with the team at the Pac-12 Tournament this week in Las Vegas. Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said after the game the New York native is leaving to take a position overseas.
“There’s a thin line between loyalty and stupidity," Perez posted on Instagram. "I’m going to be loyal, but I’m not going to be stupid. I’m not going to be so loyal that I betray myself.”
Perez was Arizona State's second-leading scorer with 13.5 points per game after transferring from West Virginia. The physical 6-foot-5 guard started his college career at Gardner-Webb, spent a season at Marquette and another at Manhattan.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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