Windsor: Albrecht’s loss not the end for U-M

(Photo: Associated Press)Spike Albrecht can play. Or could play until balky hips forced him to end his career prematurely last week.

This wasn’t a cute little mascot Michigan’s basketball team lost this season. This was a bona fide Big Ten player, a senior who did more than make shots when he was healthy.

He made a difference.

So before we discuss the enigmatic state of U-M hoops, let’s agree that John Beilein is not coaching the team he thought he would. And it’s not just Albrecht. Zak Irvin isn’t the player we saw last spring, either. Back surgery will do that.

Combine the absence of Albrecht with the diminished Irvin and an injured Derrick Walton — the point guard has missed 31/2 games — and…