Horford to transfer for Final Year
It looks like Jon Horford will transfer after he graduates in May. No word on what program he is heading too, but best of luck to him. Time for big man speculation!!!
So there's two possible spins on this:
1) PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC we have no center
2) McGary's told Horford he's back, so Jon knows he's still not starting.
Regardless, best of luck to him. I will miss his non-reactions to things.
Hadn't we just heard Horford confirm that he was coming back for his fifth year?
My initial reaction is quite disappointed. Horford brought a lot of good things to the table, and at times was as vital to the team's performance as Morgan. It is true that he seemed to decline late in the year, but I was still counting on him in a big way next season.
My hope is that this is just a tea leaf that means that McGary is back and that Horford knows Donnal will play ahead of him and he wants to try something different.
But then it might not mean that. He walks to the beat of his own drum. Who knows?
But, he never said WHERE he'd be playing!
Hope he makes the best of it.
I think the staff is aware that McGary is coming back.
I thought Horford would have been excellent as a backup. Kind of an asshole statment, but I thought Max was going to transfer out.
We will also have an extra scholarship if GR3 and McGary return. A lot of transfers and late bloomers on the market. Cole Huff, Eron Harris, Elijiah Stewart, Sviatoslav Mikhailiuk are all guys I hope the staff makes a run at.
I really doubt the staff has anything at all to do with this decision. Regardless of what may or may not be coming back, you don't tell a 5th year senior big man to kick rocks.
And on the sub 1% chance that they did tell him to kick rocks, why not just wait a few weeks until you know for sure whether or not GRIII and Mitch are coming back. This is all Horford's decision.
/s
Courtesy of MGoBlue, here's the official announcement (LINK). In his own, very Horford words:
"My time at Michigan has been the most beneficial period of my life in terms of athletic development and overall enlightenment," said Horford. "The bonds created over the last four years are everlasting, and the memories made are truly priceless. As on all journeys, new paths must be taken and intuition must be trusted. I leave Michigan with nothing but love in my heart."
He provided some excellent leadership to the program and that will definitely be missed. I wish Jon nothing but the best in his future.
...and when is the last time an athlete used the words "bonds" "everlasting" "enlightenment" "paths" "intuition" and "love"in a four-sentence statement?
I was trying to figure out if this was due to some dissatisfaction, fear of losing PT, or some other negative reason. After reading the statement I think it is just Horford wanting to leverage his 5th year to create a new experrience. Whatever the reason, he is leaving in a very classy way. All the best to him.
April 10th, 2014 at 10:52 PM ^
Guess Mitch is coming back then- otherwise this move makes no sense
If Stauskas declares for the draft, will this allow us to sign another 2014 player?
There was message board chatter about Sean Obi who is transferring from Rice.
They could take one more in that instance.
Knowing our coaches, I'm guessing they have some gems that they have been scouting for a situation like this.
What the?
This can only mean that Horford decided to move on. The two things aren't tied together.
I appreciate that most everyone here believes it must be a basketball decision--and a sign that Mitch is coming back--but if we have learned anything about Jon, it is that he follows his own drummer. This may have absolutely nothing to do with basketball. It isn't even a given that Jon plays basketball next year at all.
Good luck Jon.
Yeah, I agree. The "walkabout" comment above is also true. I could see Horford travelling the world or living abroad to study or work with the indigent. I have a feeling he is going to lead a very rich life, and I bet basketball isn't as important to him as personal development, gaining knowledge from experiencing the world, and helping others.
Looks like you're up Max B.
Forget Morford, now it's Donnalfeldt.
Wait, what? What the hell? Good lord, we need McGary to come back, or else...well crap even if McGary comes back we're playing a 6'7" center or a freshman who wil most likely be overpowered? Guh. Wonder why he decided to transfer. Though Morgan's resurgance his last year would inspire him.
Donnal is 6'9 and has put on some weight. He will probably struggle at first on defense, but probably will at least equal (and likely surpass) Horford's offensive contributions.
If McGary leaves we're in trouble, but if not we're fine.
Donnal can shoot, so in this offense it's basically a foregone conclusion that he'll surpass Horford's offensive contribution. I doubt he'll match him as a rebounder this season. Defense is the big question mark, as I'm not honestly sure how much to expect out of Donnal on that end, and while Horford had some shot blocking ability, he didn't move his feet very well and was foul-prone.
Damn, that blows. Best of luck to him.
Not gonna lie, whenever I thought about the outlook on this team for next year, Horford not coming back never even crossed my mind.
Mini melt-down commences out here...
Also means we need the Daily's article from I think Tuesday about Donnal dominating in practice to not just be a fluff piece and instead be real.
I just can't imagine Horford in another uniform, he's our quirky intellectual! Will miss him.
Damn this broke mgoblog for a second there.
I'm sad to see him transfer, but hope that he find a good spot and has success.
Horford is a different breed - he is doing what is best for him, and he likely can care less about McGary's decision. He likely just wants a change of scenery and to explore the world. Playing time/basketball may be secondary to him right now. Honestly - he will be a backup center at any major top 40 program, or a starter at a smaller school. He never seemed happy this year - but I thought that was maybe his personality?
I think Horford is a smart guy. He doesn't have an NBA future, and knows that he can get one year free to live in a place/environment of his choosing. So if he could go to someplace like UCLA or Stanford (just thinking of cool places I'd want to transfer to) why not do it? New environment, new experiences, why not?
Would anyone be that surprised if he ended up at an Ivy for his grad year?
With Tommy A. in Cambridge perhaps
I could definitely see him transfering to an ivy or a place like Stanford. Just not sure how easy it is to transfer to a place like that.
Do they have a good poetry program?
When his press release says "intuition must be trusted," I think that's the heart of it. I put no stock in press releases, but Horford is the kind of person who really would follow his intuition and make a decision that doesn't make sense on the surface.
I wish him well. I hope his intuition pays off. Intuition is one of those things that usually pays dividends, but not in a way that is anything like what one might expect.
with a bad gateway. I still don't know why he would leave. But, good luck to him and Please don't go to PUrdue...
You are the vicitim of the 502 bad gateway multi-post.