For the third straight season, Michigan will be losing a graduate transfer to a conference rival.
Andrew Dakich, a former walk-on point guard at Michigan and the son of ESPN commentator Dan Dakich, will close out his collegiate career playing the 2017-18 season at Ohio State. The 6-foot senior initially transferred to Quinnipiac but opted to leave the MAAC school when the opportunity with the Buckeyes opened up. Last year, former NCAA title game darling Spike Albrecht transferred to play his final season with Purdue. The year before that, it was Max Bielfeldt heading to Indiana to finish his career. Both Bielfeldt and Albrecht went on to win the outright Big Ten title the following season.
This creates an awkward situation for all parties involved.
Dakich will be playing for his former school’s fiercest rival -- there aren’t many rivalries at the collegiate level more intense than Michigan and Ohio State -- and doing so while trying to beat friends and former teammates that he spent four years competing, and living day-to-day, with.
That’s less than ideal, but new Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann really needed a point guard and Dakich wanted a chance to play in the Big Ten again. Credit to Michigan head coach John Beilein for letting it happen.