Missouri sophomore Jakeenan Gant told ESPN he has asked for his release. — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 21, 2016

Apparently the sophomore from Georgia will transfer. The timing is a bit of a surprise -- he didn't announce he was leaving when the other sophomores did, and the previous season is now further in the rear view mirror -- but the actual event really isn't. Gant hasn't developed as planned over his first two years in Columbia, and with the rest of his cohorts in the sophomore class disappearing around him, it appears he's decided the best plan of action is leave.

I'm sure we'll have more about this in the coming days, but while production from Gant was obviously far from guaranteed, losing him means losing one of the tallest guys on your roster. This team was already going to be severely limited from a size perspective, and now it is even more so. It appeared Mizzou was going to bank a scholarship for this coming year if no preferable big man emerged as a realistic target. One assumes this might lead Kim Anderson and his staff to lowering the bar a bit.

Gant will presumably leave Columbia having averaged 5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game over 53 appearances (10 starts). It would also leave exactly zero players from the smoking crater that is Kim Anderson's first signing class (well, the one he shared with Frank Haith). Montaque Gill-Caesar, D'Angelo Allen, Namon Wright, and Tramaine Isabell have already either transferred or announced they were leaving at the end of the semester.