Junior guard Max Kenyi has taken a voluntary leave from the college for personal reasons, he told The Crimson last night.

“I’m taking a year off,” said Kenyi, who played in 17 games and started 13 for men’s basketball coach Tommy Amaker last year, averaging 3.3 points and 13.5 minutes per contest.

The Gatorade Player of the Year in Washington, D.C., as a senior at Gonzaga College High School, Kenyi had been one of the jewels of Amaker’s first recruiting class at Harvard.

But his athletic style of play never seemed to quite translate to the college level, at least on the offensive end.

The wiry-framed Kenyi made his largest impact for the Crimson as a stopper, often taking the opposition’s toughest perimeter assignment.

As a sophomore Kenyi was hobbled by an MCL injury sustained last November, though he would remain one of the team’s top defenders after resuming play at the beginning of the Ivy season.

He said he plans on continuing to play basketball for Harvard when he returns.