Michigan head coach John Beilein allowed Spike Albrecht to transfer within the Big Ten, and now Albrecht might do just that.
ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported Monday that Albrecht, a graduate transfer from the Wolverines, is considering a host of schools at which to play college basketball next season, two of which are Michigan's conference rivals Indiana and Purdue.
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Albrecht is a Crown Point, Ind., native, so seeing the Hoosiers and Boilermakers pop up on his list makes plenty of sense.
Albrecht was initially not allowed to transfer within the Big Ten, as Beilein placed restrictions on both Albrecht and fellow transfer Ricky Doyle. But a brief controversy arose over that decision, and Beilein reversed course a few days later.
Now, Beilein isn't the final decision-maker when it comes to an intra-conference transfer. The Big Ten itself has to give its OK to Albrecht if he chooses to transfer to Indiana, Purdue or any other school within the league. But the conference has shown willingness to allow such a move in recent seasons, allowing it just last offseason when Max Bielfeldt transferred away from Michigan to play at Indiana, where he earned the conference's Sixth Man of the Year honors this past season.
Albrecht, a graduate transfer, would be eligible to play right away.
Big Ten
Albrecht was an important contributor for the past four seasons in Ann Arbor. As a freshman, he scored 17 points in the national championship game loss to Louisville in 2013. As a sophomore, he averaged more than 15 minutes a game as a backup point guard, and he was forced into a starting role as a junior, averaging 7.5 points a game and 3.9 assists a game in 32 minutes a game. Last season, he appeared in only nine games before missing the remainder of the season while recovering from multiple hip surgeries.
Both Indiana and Purdue have found success with graduate transfers in recent seasons. The Hoosiers got an important piece in Bielfeldt for a run to the Sweet Sixteen this past season, while the Boilers have brought in two graduate-transfer point guards in each of the last two seasons in Jon Octeus and Johnny Hill.