Kareem Nitoto, a starting point guard and all-conference defensive player, will not return to the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team next season.

Nitoto, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, will transfer for personal reasons. He will try to attend a school closer to his northern California home to be by the side of his ill mother.

Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash announced the decision last night.

"I want to thank Coach Nash and UH for giving me this opportunity to be a part of the program," Nitoto said. "I've made a lot of good friends and teammates, which made this decision difficult. But my concerns for my mother's health and the rest of my family forced me to make this very difficult decision."

Nitoto started 23 games as a sophomore this past season, and averaged 7.1 points and a team-leading 3.4 assists per game.

He was also considered the team's best on-ball defender, and was named to the Western Athletic Conference All-Defensive Team.

"Any time you lose an all-league defender, it's a big loss," Nash said. "This is something we weren't expecting, but given his mother's health situation, we fully understand and support his decision."

Nitoto played two seasons with the Rainbow Warriors. As a freshman, he averaged 2.9 points and 0.9 assists per game as a reserve.

Nitoto signed with Hawai'i out of San Leandro High, and was part of Nash's first recruiting class in 2007.

Nitoto had been thinking about transferring since the beginning of his sophomore season, when his mother became ill.

"It's something that came up in the past," Nash said. "But as the season went on, and he made such strides as a player, we looked at him as a big part of the future of this program."

The 'Bows signed point guards Jeremy Lay and Dwain Williams last week, but Nash said that had nothing to do with Nitoto's decision.

"We discussed with all our returning players that we were trying to bring in players that could make the team better," Nash said. "The plan was to have Kareem compete with all the other guards to make the team better."

He is the fourth Hawai'i player from the 2008-09 roster who will not return next season.

Scholarship players Lasha Parghalava and Adam Jespersen previously said they will seek transfers. Also, walk-on Conrad Fitzgerald said he will not return.

The losses of Nitoto, Parghalava and Jespersen leave three open scholarships for the 2009-10 season.

Nash said the recruiting process is continuing, although he was not sure if the 'Bows would fill all three available scholarships.