Michigan walk-on receives scholarship with hilarious prank

Michigan walk-on basketball player Andrew Dakich received a great surprise this week in hilarious fashion.

If you haven’t heard of University of Michigan basketball player Andrew Dakich, you’re likely not alone. It’s more probable that you’ve heard of his father, Dan, who was a former player and assistant coach under Bob Knight at Indiana, was the head coach for a decade at Bowling Green University and now works for ESPN as a commentator. While Andrew certainly hasn’t had the success that his dad had on the court, he’s just one of those guys that every team needs and wants around.

After earning All-State honorable mention honors his senior year at Zionsville (Ind.) Community High School, Andrew joined the Wolverines basketball team as a walk-on in the fall of 2013 and became a valued member of the practice and scout squads. He appeared in just 12 games off the bench, averaging two minutes per contest and scoring three total points.

After initially requesting to redshirt his sophomore season, Dakich sacrificed it when the Wolverines were hit by injuries. He appeared in 13 games in the 2014-15 season, upping his average to 5.3 minutes per game, including a career-high 16 minutes against rival Michigan State.

He once again attempted to redshirt prior to his junior season but after injuries once again riddled the team, Dakich again sacrificed his eligibility to help the team, appearing in a career-high 24 games last season, averaging 4.6 minutes per game and scored a career-high four points against Delaware State last December 12.

So why write all of this about a walk-on? Well, as I said before, he’s just one of those guys that everybody likes having around. He’s a valued member of the squad that helps his teammates get ready for the next big game (just think the Rudy mentality here) and he’s a very well-rounded individual, including earning Academic All-Big Ten and U-M Academic Achievement Awards in 2015 and 2016. And he does all of this without getting one dollar from the university…until now.

While Dakich did finally get the redshirt season that he’s been wanting, as he plans to leave Michigan and join a lower Division I program as a graduate transfer in hopes of really playing a full year, he’s still a valued member of the Michigan basketball community and head coach John Beilein devised an amazing prank in order to let Andrew know just how valuable he was.

During a team meeting, two police officers entered the room and told Dakich that his conduct on campus was tied to some investigations on campus, obviously shocking the 22-year-old. As the officers continued to read the document they had, it soon became clear that Dakich was not only not in any trouble, but that he’d been awarded a second-semester scholarship, which is around $30,000 for the Indiana native. Check out the amazing prank as posted on Twitter by Dakich himself.

It’s been quite a week for Andrew Dakich.

The Wolverines are back in action on Wednesday night as they take on Illinois.