Reserve forward Matthew Atewe is leaving Huskies

The turnstile at Washington continues to spin.

On Wednesday new men’s basketball coach Mike Hopkins walked through the door the same time the Huskies’ top 2017 prospect Michael Porter Jr. asked for his release.

Less than 24 hours later, reserve forward Matthew Atewe announced Thursday morning that he’s leaving UW.

In a Twitter post, Atewe wrote: “Thank you to the University of Washington for everything that you have given me, especially Coach (Lorenzo) Romar and the staff for getting me healthy and allowing me to finally play basketball at a competitive level.

“This has been the closet team that I have ever been on and me and my brothers have had the best experiences that I will never forget. But due to recent events that have occurred, I have decided to graduate and transfer out to play my final year of basketball. #DubsUp #HuskyForLife”

Atewe appeared in 19 games and made four starters this season during his only year playing with the Huskies. He averaged 2.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 8.7 minutes.

After joining Washington, the 6-foot-9 senior sat out the 2015-16 season to recover from a stress fracture in his left leg that forced him to miss the 2014-15 season when he was at Auburn. Atewe saw little action with the Tigers as a freshman in 2013-14.

Atewe is the first UW player to transfer since the school fired Lorenzo Romar last week. At the time, three Huskies indicated they were considering leaving Washington.

Hopkins said he has met and is in the process of meeting with players with hopes of keeping intact a UW team that lost 13 straight games, finished 9-22 and stumbled to 11th in the Pac-12 at 2-16 this season.

Washington’s highly touted 2017 recruiting class has taken hits after Porter Jr., the nation’s No. 1 2017 prospect, and Blake Harris, a three-star recruit, asked for their release.

On Wednesday Hopkins met with Garfield High stars Daejon Davis and Jaylen Nowell – a pair of UW signees.