Purdue Transfer Nojel Eastern Commits To Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines got some exciting news on Thursday as fans learned Nojel Eastern would be joining the program after transferring from Purdue. It’s surprising, yet significant news for Juwan Howard and his staff moving forward.

During his three seasons with Purdue, Eastern played substantially. He averaged only 12.6 minutes per game in 2017-’18, but that grew to well north of 25 during his final two years with the Boilermakers. Eastern was widely regarded for his defensive play last season, despite having inconsistent offensive production.

For Michigan, this is big news. The Wolverines have gotten hit hard with attrition over the last month or so and were set to enter next season with a number of open scholarships. Eastern fills one of those spots and should have a year to develop his game, as he is expected to sit out next season due to NCAA rules. After that, fans will hope he can lock down a starting slot.

How Michigan’s roster will look when Eastern is eligible is difficult to project. Eli Brooks will graduate after next season and he’s largely backed up by unproven pieces. We’ll have to see how things sort out. Either way, Wolverine fans have to be excited.