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Doyel: Bravo, Big Ten, on Max Bielfeldt decision

Gregg Doyel
gregg.doyel@indystar.com
Indiana Hoosiers forward Max Bielfeldt (0) drives between Illinois Fighting Illini guard Aaron Jordan (23),left, and Mike Thorne Jr. (33) in the second half of their game Tuesday, Jan 19, 2016, evening at Assembly Hall in Bloomington IN. The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini 103-69.

John Beilein gave Max Bielfeldt a cut-throat lesson in life at Michigan, then hoped the Big Ten would treat him even worse at Indiana.

Bravo to the Big Ten for showing some flexibility with its rules, and some steel with Michigan’s basketball coach, who hoped the conference would follow through on its rule of no transfers within the league. Bravo, Big Ten, for going against the wishes of Beilein — who always has struck me as a smart and good man, but who has been bizarrely wrong every step of the way as it relates to Max Bielfeldt.

This is about transfers, an issue the NCAA still hasn’t gotten right, though it made progress in 2006 by allowing players who have completed their No. 1 mission on campus — graduate — to transfer without penalty to another school.

In the case of Max Bielfeldt, he never wanted to leave Michigan. He redshirted as a freshman, stayed three more years, graduated from the School of Kinesiology as a redshirt junior and wanted to return for his final year of eligibility.

Beilein said no. Bielfeldt’s career at Michigan? Closing time.

You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

Oh, and he can’t go to Indiana either.

IU transfer Max Bielfeldt sees red at Michigan

That’s where this story went sideways in 2015, but let me take you back to the 2011-12 season, when Beilein decided to redshirt Bielfeldt and uttered this quote:

"In these next four years,” Beilein said in February 2012, “if (Bielfeldt) continues to improve, he'll help us a lot.”

Bielfeldt continued to improve — and helped Michigan a lot. In all, the phrase “helped U-M” appears 27 times on Bielfeldt’s official Michigan bio. So does this: After averaging 1.0 point per game as a freshman and sophomore, Bielfeldt averaged 5.1 ppg and 3.6 rebounds in 14.5 minutes the following season and won the team’s Sixth Man Award.

That’s a lot of help, a lot of improvement, and he had one year of eligibility left.

Beilein took his scholarship away. Made it clear why, too:

“We decided to go with a lot of young players that were trending up last spring — Mark Donnal, Ricky Doyle and D.J. Wilson," Beilein said Monday on his weekly radio show. "We decided: Let's move forward and plan for the future."

MichiganÕs head coach John Beilein calls a play.Michigan defeated Tennessee 73-71 in the NCAA Division1 Men's Basketball Championship Midwest Regional game Friday, March 28, 2014, evening at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Taking Bielfeldt’s scholarship is cold enough, but wanting to dictate where he can play his final year of eligibility? Doing that to a player who was never in trouble and graduated in four years?

Screwing that guy?

Ice cold. This week Beilein looked back on his decision to cut loose Bielfeldt and the Big Ten’s ensuing decision to grant Bielfeldt’s appeal of the league rule that prohibits free transfers within the conference. With the benefit of hindsight, Beilein looked back on that ugly episode and decided he was … right.

"I don't think people should be able to transfer within their league at any time,” Beilein said on his radio show, “but he's there, and that's all there is to it.”

Max Bielfeldt on transfer to IU: 'I know what to expect'

Bielfeldt was a topic on Monday in Michigan because he and Indiana were visiting Ann Arbor on Tuesday night for a game pivotal to both teams’ NCAA tournament hopes. It can’t help Beilein’s mood that Bielfeldt is playing better for Tom Crean than he did for John Beilein, averaging career bests at IU in points (8.1 per game), rebounds (4.6), steals (1.0), assists (0.7) and blocks (0.5) in similar minutes (17.1) to his junior year at Michigan.

Bielfeldt has added the 3-pointer to his arsenal at IU, making as many 3s through 22 games (12) as he did in 69 games at Michigan, and with much more accuracy: 44.4 percent at IU, 26.8 percent at Michigan.

Are Beilein’s grapes sour — or does he truly believe it’s fair to yank a young man’s scholarship and dictate where that 22-year-old young man can spend his final year of eligibility?

Those are the only choices here for Beilein.

Both are lousy.

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter: @GreggDoyelStar or atwww.facebook.com/gregg.doyel.