Former Purdue guard Nojel Eastern, who announced in May that he was transferring to Michigan, will not be heading to the play for the Wolverines after all. On Wednesday, Eastern revealed in a Twitter post that his recruitment would be opening back up after he was denied admission into the school.
"I was not admitted to the University because of many credits that weren't transferable because of my Major," Eastern wrote in the message posted to Twitter.
The former top-100 prospect has one season of collegiate eligibility remaining after playing a key role for the Boilermakers over the past three seasons. Eastern averaged 4.9 points and 2.7 assists on 42% shooting as a junior last season after averaging 7.5 points and 2.5 assists on 49.5% shooting as a sophomore.
Eastern is not a graduate transfer, meaning he would need a waiver in order to play immediately at a new school. Though he regressed as a junior, Eastern would have been a nice addition for a Wolverines program which has recruited several transfers under coach Juwan Howard.
The Wolverines are waiting to hear if Wake Forest transfer Chaundee Brown, also a guard, will be eligible next season. Columbia graduate transfer Mike Smith will be eligible immediately after averaging 22.8 points per game in the Ivy League last season.
Eastern thanked Howard for taking a chance on him and expressed in his message on Monday that the issue with his academic credits was "the only reason" why he was not admitted to Michigan.
"I say this to say that I will be reopening my recruitment process as a transfer," Eastern wrote. "I want to thank Michigan and the entire staff and organization for trying to do everything in their power to get me into the University of Michigan."