Malik Albert, who was Maurice Watson’s primary backup at point guard in 2015-16, will not return for his senior season according to a tweet from Steve Pivovar of the Omaha World-Herald. The junior college transfer from Mott Community College struggled to find playing time in his lone season on the Hilltop, with seven games where he never got on the court at all and just five games with double-digit minutes prior to a late-season surge where he logged big minutes.
Despite limited playing time, he showed flashes of what he could do. In the season’s second game, he dished out 10 assists in a win over UTSA, becoming the first Bluejay in over 30 years to have 10 or more assists as a reserve. Later in the non-conference, he scored 13 points on 4-5 shooting with three assists and two steals against Coppin State, which wound up being his highest-scoring game as a Bluejay.
In Big East play, his athleticism was frequently on display the few times he got into games. Who can forget this highlight-reel swat of Seton Hall’s Khadeen Carrington, who was trying for a coast-to-coast dunk?
Thrust into a bigger role in the season’s final two weeks when Isaiah Zierden’s minutes were curtailed by injury, Albert took advantage of the opportunity. He averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds over the last three games of the regular season and their lone Big East Tournament game, playing an average of nearly 16 minutes a game.
In the first of those games, Albert made 4-of-5 shots from the floor, including a pair of dunks, and finished with eight points, four rebounds and two assists (with not one but two dunks) in the win over St. John’s on February 28. On March 2, he finished 4-for-9 from the field with five rebounds, an assist and a steal at Providence. And in the regular season finale at #5 Xavier, he had seven points, two rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes, and keyed a near-miraculous-comeback in a furious final minute.
Playing at the shooting guard alongside Watson, instead of subbing in for him for the first time in Big East play, removed him from having to run the offense. That left him able to create shots for himself, and use his freakish vertical leap to make plays at the rim. This layup, after Ronnie Harrell had stolen the inbounds pass and saved the ball behind his back, was one of the top plays of the year:
He’d make another huge play moments later, coming up with a steal on the press that led to an easy bucket to cut the deficit to two. His quickness, vertical leaping ability, and athleticism — particularly on defense — were becoming a real asset.
In the Big East Tourney, he once again provided a spark off the bench, described thusly in our game recap:
“Trailing 39-30 at the half, Creighton charged out of the locker room with an 11-4 run to cut the deficit to 43-41, thanks to nine points from Huff. Playing the quicker, more athletic lineup that had yielded positive results at Xavier on Saturday — namely plugging in Malik Albert at the “2” for Isaiah Zierden — the Jays once again saw their fortunes improve. Passing and driving lanes were suddenly not so hospitable. Shots rarely went uncontested. Tempo increased. And what had once been a 14-point deficit became a one-point Creighton lead with 11:24 to go when Albert ripped away the ball at midcourt and raced 75 feet for a fastbreak layup.”
His season would end in the second round of the NIT when he suffered a high-ankle sprain just one minute into a win over Wagner. His departure means the Bluejays will need an immediate contribution from highly-touted incoming freshman guard Davion Mintz, and barring that, additional playing time for Tyler Clement. It also opens up a scholarship, giving the Jays room to sign one of the many transfers they’ve been actively recruiting this spring.