Rodney Alexander sat in a folding chair before practice on a March afternoon, arms folded, not particularly wanting to talk.

He hadn’t been active since sustaining a concussion against Michigan State on March 6, but his production had dwindled before that, and as the team prepared for the Big Ten Tournament, head coach Bruce Weber searched for other lineup combinations. Alexander wasn’t a keystone in any of them.

He looked up and said he wasn’t “feeling good,” slinking back in his seat, assuring it wasn’t the lingering affects of a concussion keeping him down. He declined to say exactly what was bothering him.

On Tuesday afternoon, Alexander’s late-season lamenting took a punctuating turn. In a statement released by Weber, it was announced Alexander would not return for his senior season. After just one year at Illinois, during which the team went 16-19 and failed to make a postseason appearance for the first time since 1999, Alexander would leave to pursue other options.

“In our individual meetings at the conclusion of the season, Rodney indicated that he was unsure about his future at Illinois,” Weber said in the statement. “After taking some time and discussing his situation further, we have mutually agreed that it is in his best interest to pursue an opportunity at another institution.

“We thank him for his effort here and wish him the best with his remaining education and basketball career.”

Alexander, a transfer from Redlands Community College in Oklahoma, played in 31 games and started 15 times after spending the last two seasons as one of the nation’s top junior college prospects. He was brought in to help offset the loss of MVPs Rich McBride and Warren Carter after the pair left following their senior seasons and was expected to bring toughness and a rebounding presence to the team. Instead, inconsistency marred his tenure. He averaged 8.5 points in his first six games but only three in his last 11. On the year, he averaged 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Alexander began the season as the Illini’s starting small forward and lasted through the first seven games of the season. He recorded career highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds at Ohio State in late January before seeing his production taper off before the stretch run into the Big Ten Tournament.

He scored in double figures in only three games and Alexander’s dunks, most off lob passes from teammates, proved to be his forte.

He wasn’t sure he would crack the Illini rotation in the Big Ten Tournament beforehand, and for the most part, his foresight proved accurate. Alexander played two minutes in the title game loss to Wisconsin after sitting out the first three rounds against Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota. He confirmed prior to the start of the Big Ten Tournament that the concussion was no longer an issue.

Alexander could play collegiate basketball again and will retain eligibility for his senior season if he transfers to another Division I school.

He would need to sit out next season per NCAA regulations to be eligible to play again in 2009.

The Illini added a spark to the forward spot at the end of last season in Dominque Keller, a junior college transfer from Lee College in Texas, and the competition for playing time was expected to be fierce. Bill Cole, Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, Richard Semrau and incoming freshman Stan Simpson are the main contenders at forward in what is expected to be a guard-oriented lineup.

Alexander, after Tuesday, is no longer in the mix.