Sophomore basketball player Julian McElroy will take advantage of his time being released from the NIU team.

McElroy declined to comment on the exact reason coach Rob Judson said he would not be with the team for the rest of the year in Wednesday’s edition of the Star. McElroy did, however, say he is using his break from the team to mature.

I’m going to do everything I can to maintain my skills and get better,” said McElroy. “This time during the year, the guys are working to get better as a team, but now I’m going to get better as an individual not just on the court, but off the court. And that’s the thing that I need to do. You see the team is going on a rampage now; they just won three in a row.”

A 6-foot-6, 204-pound swingman capable of playing point guard through power forward, McElroy’s last game was on Dec. 30 against Eastern Illinois in a 90-75 NIU loss. McElroy finished with eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes of play.

McElroy said he still is on scholarship and expects to be for the rest of the year.

Judson said it was a team-related issue, and McElroy confirmed.

“I didn’t break the law or anything,” McElroy said. “Things that happened were all team related. I didn’t go and break into Molly’s or anything.”