Spike Albrecht officially ended his college basketball career on Friday, announcing the decision to step away from the Michigan team to focus on continued rehabilitation from his hip surgery this summer.
"This has been the toughest decision I have ever had to make," Albrecht said, via an official release. "After taking a hard look at what is best for me, and this team, I will be stepping away from the game that has meant so much to me.
"I am so thankful for what Coach Beilein, the assistants and the medical staff have done for me during my career and in particular over the last year while I was dealing with this injury. I just have a little more to go and I really need to take the proper time to finish my rehab."
Albrecht played in 115 games during his career with the Wolverines and played a key role in some breakthrough years for the program under John Beilein. As a freshman, Albrecht played in 39 games and helped the team reach the Final Four for the first time in 20 years then the next season he played in all 37 games as the Wolverines won the outright Big Ten title for the first time in 28 years.
"[Spike] is a tremendous young man, who has had a very special career," Beilein said. "His important role in our 2013 NCAA Tournament run and his incredible performance in the national title game were straight out of a storybook. His sophomore year we would not have won the Big Ten title or made a second straight trip in the Elite Eight without him.
"He has proven time and time again what heart and determination can do. Even last year, he played through so much pain, but held the team together and guided us through tough times."
Albrecht underwent two hip surgeries after the completion of the 2014-15 season and was held out of action until just before the season. He was the team's fourth-leading scorer and assist leader a year ago, though never really got settled back into the rotation during the first month of the season.
