In a surprise move, former University of Michigan guard Andrew Dakich will be using his fifth year of NCAA eligibility to play of Ohio State University. At the conclusion of last season, Dakich already planned on playing a fifth season, but the school in his plans has changed.
Michigan grad transfer Andrew Dakich told ESPN that he will be playing at Ohio State next season. Chris Holtmann needed help in backcourt.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) July 17, 2017
It was a foregone conclusion that Dakich’s career with the Wolverines was over at the end of last season. After originally planning to play for Quinnipiac next year, Dakich changed his mind and will remain in the Big Ten. Ohio State’s roster boasts only one scholarship point guard, and allows Dakich the opportunity to see some serious playing time, which turned out to be an opportunity that he couldn’t pass on.
The Bloomington, IN-born Dakich also talked about how new Ohio State head coach Christ Holtmann was trying to recruit Dakich as a grad transfer when Holtmann was still the head man at Butler. He’s fully aware of the impending reactions he may get from the Michigan faithful but says hopefully they’ll understand.
Dakich, who’s father Dan is an announcer for ESPN, was a walk-on with Michigan’s program in 2013. He appeared in the Michigan rotation after injuries worked their way through the Wolverine locker room. In his three years in Ann Arbor, Dakich was never more than a role player. He appeared in 49 games with Michigan. He averaged less than a point per game (0.4, to be exact), while averaging 4.1 minutes per game over the course of his three years. His career field goal shooting percentage stands at 33.3 percetn, while he also managed to shoot at a 30 percent clip from three-point land.
Wolverines head coach John Beilein allowed Dakich to redshirt in the 2016-17 season, which allowed him a graduate transfer season next year.
Dakich was well known in Michigan circles after his unique scholarship offer was presented in prank fashion, as police officers interrupted a meeting. After initially scaring Dakich, his scholarship was offered.
Situations like this have occurred with Michigan in the past, as former Wolverine Spike Albrecht played his graduate transfer season with Purdue Unversity last season, and Max Bielfeldt played his graduate transfer season with Indiana University. This particular situation is unheard of however, as no player from Michigan has decided to play with the arch rival Buckeyes in his graduate transfer season.
