Fischer transfer to Marquette from Indiana official

Earlier this week, Indiana freshmen Luke Fischer announced he would transfer from Indiana University.  Speculation among several people close to the Indiana program indicated a desire for a better fit, a chance to be closer to home and a smaller setting in terms of campus size.  Not entirely surprising when one considers the schools Fischer was heavily recruited by tended to be smaller schools like Marquette, Dayton, Creighton, Butler, and Boston College.  The two larger schools in play were Iowa and Indiana, where Fischer ultimately landed.

When the decision to transfer was announced, former Marquette coach Tom Crean released as statement, "Luke has decided to withdraw from Indiana and pursue another educational and basketball opportunity. He explained to us he is looking for a different fit for him. We hate to see a fine young man like Luke leave, but he has made his decision and we wish the entire Fischer family well."

Fischer's decision ultimately came down to Creighton, UW-Milwaukee and Marquette, seemingly to confirm his desire to play closer to home in a smaller setting more comfortable to him (Creighton and Bloomington are each about 6 hours and 40 minutes from Baraboo, WI, but Creighton is a much different setting than Bloomington).  Fischer's tweet today seems in line with the information from IU sources: "Marquette allows me to be closer to home while playing at the highest level for a great academic institution."

 When Fischer announced his transfer this week, Indiana University had stated a transfer in conference to another Big Ten school would not be allowed.  Seemed to be a moot point as Justin Litscher, Fischer's former coach who was fielding inquiries stated “That was a moot point.  They weren’t going to attend any Big Ten school anyway.”   Tom Crean did not block a transfer request to Marquette.  Litscher had indicated Crean and IU to his knowledge did not block a transfer to any school other than Big Ten schools.

Fischer will enroll at MU for the second semester.    He will be eligible to play second semester of next season.  Fischer was ranked 34th nationally as a recruit, won the Mr. Basketball title in the state of Wisconsin.  He is 6'11" tall 230lbs and will likely play the center and power forward positions at MU.  With the graduation of Chris Otule and Devante Gardner this season, Fischer will fill a void for MU along with incoming recruit Satchel Pierce.

Marquette is over committed by one scholarship for next season, indicating one incoming recruit will no longer come to MU or someone will leave early.