Carlton Brundidge Transfers To Detroit

In recent days, the final transfer from Michigan's 2011-2012 squad has announced that he will be transferring to Detroit.  Most speculated that this was his most likely destination so it shouldn't come as a major surprise for those following the situation. He is one of three players that announced they would be transferring following the season.  I was a bit surprised when I first heard the news, especially considering that he was only a freshman, but if a player doesn't fit it does them no good to stay around.

Brundidge was one of Michigan's most heralded recruits in Michigan's 2011 recruiting class.  He was rated as a 4* by ESPN and was Michigan's highest recruit on the ESPN100 at #76 (Trey Burke was #84).  To see a player come into a program with those types of ratings and then do little to nothing is pretty disappointing.  Most expected him to be a big part of Michigan's team in the future.  However, it just never seemed to quite work out with him.


Brundidge made little to no contributions over last season.  He appeared in 15 games and averaged 0.4 pts and 0.5 rebounds per game.  Plus, to be honest, he primarily appeared in "garbage" time for most of the games when he actually did get the chance to play.  Do I think he would have done better if he had more playing time?  Perhaps, but that's a lot of speculation, especially considering the circumstances.  If he was on the floor he would have been replacing Burke, Douglass, or Hardaway, and he obviously wasn't making contributions better than any of those players.

Would I call Brundidge's tale a sad one?  I don't think so.  Sure, he didn't come close to living up to his hype, but now he and Michigan will get a fresh start.  Michigan has some great guys coming in for 2012 and is going to have a great starting lineup for next year.  Brundidge has some friends at Detroit and will be able to stay in Michigan and play some big-time basketball.  He's clearly a talented player and maybe he can contribute and fit in better with the Titans.  Plus, they made the NCAA Tournament last year, so it's not as if he's going to a horrible basketball school.

Brundidge and Michigan may not have worked out perfectly for one another, but I think the final result will be better than some expect.  Michigan still has a great squad and fellow Michigan team Detroit will be picking up a solid player that could contribute in the near future.  I really don't have any hard feelings and feel happy that at least another school in the state will get to benefit.  Michigan really doesn't play Detroit eitherso it's not going to hurt Michigan in the long run.  This is far from being a "win" for Michigan, but it's not horrible either.  Plus, a kid is going to get a fresh start with a school that's closer to home.  I wish him and Detroit the best of luck in the future.