One of the University of Hawaii basketball team’s 7-foot sophomore centers has taken steps to leave the program.

Dawson Carper said he has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

“Part of it is I wanted to be closer to home,” said Carper, whose family lives in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I felt it was a good decision for me right now in my career. It should be better for me to find a good spot that will hopefully work out well and be closer to home.”

Carper said he was thinking of the move “for a while.” A few days ago, Carper said, he told coach Eran Ganot about his intent to transfer.

“It’s been good,” Carper said of his two UH seasons. “But I feel this is the best for me right now. I’m thankful for my experience in Hawaii.”

Ganot said: “We appreciate his time here and we wish him well in his future.”

Carper also said he would be amenable to sitting out a season, a usual requirement for a player transferring between NCAA schools.

“I’m not worried or against it,” Carper said. “I feel I can benefit from that, too. I can always get better in a year.”

Carper is the second Rainbow Warrior to enter the portal this week, following point guard Drew Buggs’ application. As of Friday afternoon, there were more than 550 players who entered the transfer portal.

Carper, Mate Colina and Owen Hulland are sophomores who were recruited to help counter the Big West’s taller front lines, particularly UC Irvine’s post. Colina, who has shown to be the most athletic of the three, has demonstrated his defensive skills in limited playing time. Hulland, who is an accurate outside shooter, had been restricted because of a variety of ailments.

Of those three pure centers, Carper logged the most time during his two-season UH career. He played in 54 of a possible 60 games.

This season, he played in 28 of 30 games, starting 22 of them. He averaged 6.0 points while leading the ’Bows in field-goal accuracy (61%) among players attempting at least 10 shots. He averaged 3.9 rebounds and amassed a team-high 16 blocks.

Carper hit the decisive basket in UH’s 56-55 victory over UC Riverside this year.

The ’Bows have filled the expected vacancies of seniors Eddie Stansberry, Zigmars Raimo and Ahmed Ali (who withdrew from school in October because of medical reasons) with the signing of Beon Ja Riley and two verbal commitments. The NCAA signing period for basketball is scheduled to begin April 15, but that could change because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bernardo da Silva, a 6-foot-9 freshman with a 7-2 wing span, played in 25 games in the low post, starting four.