Michigan Transfer Spike Albrecht Commits To Purdue Boilermakers

Early on Tuesday morning, Michigan graduate transfer Spike Albrecht posted his transfer destination on Twitter. His transfer recruiting has been a long and winding process with several twists and turns, but ultimately, the point guard decided to take his talents west and join the Purdue Boilermakers.

Excited to announce that I'll be playing my 5th year for Purdue University!! #BoilerUp

— Spike Albrecht (@SpikeAlbrecht) May 3, 2016

During his career as a Wolverine, Spike appeared in 116 games, scored 453 points, and made 235 assists. Though Spike suffered from some hip injuries late in his career in Ann Arbor, during the 2014-15 season, he averaged 32.0 minutes, 7.5 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Of course, Spike is best known for his performance in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, where he helped push the Wolverines to the national championship game and scored 17 points against Louisville. Although Michigan ultimately fell against the Cardinals, it was a huge moment for Spike on a huge stage.

Generally speaking, this is a pretty substantial pickup for Purdue. There are going to be a lot of health questions over the coming months about Spike, but the Boilermakers desperately needed a proven option in the backcourt and may have just added one. Although incoming prospect Carsen Edwards and returner PJ Thompson should be able to compete, Spike could easily grab some major minutes.

In fact, the most exciting things for Purdue fans could be what Spike doesn't do on the court. The Boilermakers struggled significantly with turnovers and press defenses last season and though Spike is far from a perfect player, he's generally been really good in both those categories. Even if he can just provide a boost in those two areas, it would be a huge boost for Purdue.

It will be interesting to watch how Spike fits in next season with Purdue, but given all he's been through, it would seem that the Boilermakers just made a major pickup for next season.