"I've made up my mind, and it's final," Lee said via telephone from his parents' home in San Antonio. "I just want to stay home. I came home after last semester and I realized how much I missed it."

Lee, who is 6 feet 2 and 170 pounds, played in all 33 games for Hawai'i last season, including 26 as a starter. He led the team with 3.6 assists per game, and also contributed 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

Lee said he has requested an official release from Hawai'i, but has not yet received it. He said he would eventually like to transfer to another NCAA Division I program.

"My plans are up in the air right now," he said. "Until I get my release (from UH), I can't do anything, so that's all I'm waiting for. I'd like to play for another school closer to home, but it's getting kind of late. If I have to sit out a year, I'll do that."

Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said Lee's decision was "a total surprise." Wallace added that he had no immediate intention of granting Lee an official release.

"We haven't released him; we still want him to come back (to Hawai'i)," Wallace said. "If he does end up leaving, it puts us in a real bind because he didn't tell us anything until about a week ago, and that's late in the game."

Lee lost his starting spot to senior Jason Carter late last season, but he said that had nothing to do with his decision.

"This is not about playing time, or the coaches, or my teammates, or anything like that," Lee said. "I started for most of the year, I got a lot of minutes; it was everything I expected. It's more about my family and being here with them."

Lee said he was in good standing both academically and socially during his only year at Hawai'i last season.

"He was an all-academic guy, and he got along with everybody," Wallace said. "That's why it's hard to understand."

Lee was the only true point guard on the 2004-05 Hawai'i roster. Incoming recruit Matt Gibson — a point guard in high school, but a high-scoring shooting guard at Three Rivers Community College (Mo.) last season — is a potential replacement.

"I know a lot of big things were expected this year, and that's the hardest part about this decision," Lee said.

Without Lee, the 'Bows will have only nine scholarship players on next season's roster. The NCAA maximum of scholarship players per season is 13.

"The best plan would be for him to come back," Wallace said. "If not, we'll have to start looking for a replacement right away."