[jwplayer qpUAD9Rn-XNcErKyb]
A couple years ago, it went the other way, with a Michigan guard — in that case, fan favorite Spike Albrecht — transferring to Purdue. Well, it was apparently a trade, with player to be named later (figuratively speaking).
Having spent his first three years in West Lafayette, Nojel Eastern played in 104 games for the Boilermakers. In the shortened 2019-20 season, Eastern averaged 4.9 points-per-game, 4 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
He entered the transfer portal just two days ago, but took little-to-no time to make the decision about his future. Eastern decided to stay in-conference, but cross the division line, opting to finish his college career in Ann Arbor by transferring to Michigan, he announced on Twitter.
— Nojel Eastern (@NEblessed_20) May 14, 2020
It is not known as of yet whether or not he’ll have earned his degree, allowing him to be a grad transfer and play immediately, or if he’ll have to sit out the 2020-21 season.
Having appeared on Dan Dakich’s radio show, Eastern’s now former head coach Matt Painter didn’t exactly have nice things to say about his departure, sounding somewhat bitter about having lost not only Eastern — before he announced for Michigan — but also Matt Haarms, who transferred to BYU this offseason.
“We’ve got a lot of great things going on at Purdue, and it’s (Eastern’s) loss,” Painter told Dakich. “When you walk out the door and you turn your back, you’re not thinking clearly about the big picture and what Purdue can do for you.”
He continued:
“You might’ve got your degree from Purdue, but you’re not a Boilermaker if you walk out the door at the end and say, ‘Hey, I want to make the league.’ Well, guys who make the league work hard like Carsen Edwards and Caleb Swanigan,” Painter said. “I didn’t see that from him. Did he work hard in practice? Sure. Did he work hard in games? Sure. Was he a good player for us? Yes. But if you take him and rank him against those guys I just mentioned, where would you rank him? So Trevion Williams beat him out and if he wants to move on, then that’s his choice.
“I don’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings, because I like the guys who have left my program. I like both of them. But transfers don’t get drafted, pretty much. It’s a very, very small percentage. What I look at more than anything is embrace problems and embrace adversity and fight it. Don’t run from it. When you run from it and your work ethic isn’t at a high, high level like a Carsen Edwards or a Caleb Swanigan … that’s the one thing that’s not gonna change.”
Needless to say, it’ll be something of a bitter matchup when the Boilermakers and Wolverines clash this upcoming season.