Luke Fischer, who informed IU Coach Tom Crean on Dec. 30 of his decision to withdraw from IU, announced on Twitter this morning that he has decided to transfer to Marquette University to play basketball for the Golden Eagles.
"I am excited to say I will be transferring to Marquette University to play for Coach Williams and the Golden Eagles," he tweeted. "Marquette allows me to be closer to home while playing at the highest level for a great academic institution."
Fischer tweeted that he and his family narrowed down his options to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Creighton University and Marquette. On Jan. 1, Fischer tweeted that he would not consider any Big Ten schools out of respect for Crean and IU.
The 6-foot-11 center will have to sit out the spring semester of this season and the fall semester of the 2014-15 season due to NCAA Division I transfer rules. Assuming Fischer fulfills his academic requirements at Marquette, he will be eligible to play for the Golden Eagles in the spring semester of the 2014-15 season.
Fischer will fill a void in Marquette's frontcourt. Redshirt senior center Chris Otule, who is listed at 6-foot-11, is the only player on the Golden Eagles' roster who is taller than 6-foot-8. Marquette will also lose 6-foot-8 forward Davante Gardner and 6-foot-7 forward Jamil Wilson to graduation following this season.
Marquette will have a five-player freshman class in 2014 but 6-foot-10 center Satchel Pierce is the only one who plays Fischer's position, meaning the former Hoosier will be one of the two true low post players on Buzz Williams' squad.
In addition to the opportunity to have a lot of playing time as a Golden Eagle, Marquette's location appears to have been one of the deciding factors in Fischer's decision. Marquette University is roughly a half an hour drive from Fischer's hometown of Germantown, Wisc.
