Graduate transfer Spike Albrecht is headed to Purdue for his fifth and final year, and Beilein is just hoping he doesn’t do what Max Bielfeldt did at Indiana this season.
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You see, Bielfeldt was the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year after helping the Hoosiers to a regular-season conference championship. He also improved his offensive stats, averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, minutes and shooting percentage,as a key player for Indiana. And in his return to Ann Arbor, he posted five points and seven rebounds while Indiana went on a 28-0 run to blow the game wide open.
Bielfeldt’s transfer left Michigan in a tough spot in the frontcourt. Beilein was left with three inexperienced forwards in Mark Donnal, Ricky Doyle and Moritz Wagner, and the Wolverines struggled to find a consistent rotation between the three. An experienced senior would’ve allowed the underclassmen to adjust at their own pace instead of being thrown into a starting role immediately. Unfortunately, Beilein couldn’t prevent this transfer — Michigan was out of scholarships.
This season, though, Michigan could have prevented Albrecht’s transfer. A scholarship recently opened up — Ricky Doyle and Aubrey Dawkins, who is going to UCF to play for his dad, both decided to transfer — so there theoretically was a spot for him. And later Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported Kam Chatman will transfer, opening up another scholarship.
But the Wolverines will be fine at point guard with starter Derrick Walton Jr. back for his senior year and incoming freshman in Xavier Simpson in the mix, even if they’ll miss Albrecht’s leadership and scrappiness in Ann Arbor.
Purdue’s known for its penchant for signing fifth-year point guards and it’s worked out quite well: Johnny Hill (2015-16, 5.1 ppg, 2.3 apg, team-high 35 steals), and Jon Octeus (2014-15, 9.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, team-high 35 steals) both became defensive studs and key offensive players. Albrecht fits that mold perfectly and will contribute immediately if he’s 100 percent healthy.
The Boilermakers should contend for a Big Ten title next season while Michigan hopes to improve upon its barely-squeaking-into-the-NCAA-Tournament resume, and Albrecht’s transfer is another blow to the Wolverines’ outlook.
Add to that the fact that Beilein just lost two assistant coaches to head coaching jobs —LaVall Jordan was hired by Milwaukee and Bacari Alexander returned to Detroit Mercy, his alma mater — Michigan’s offseason looks turbulent at best.
