The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 45 2024-25 BASKETBALL PREVIEW Once Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard took the job at Texas following the season, Goldin moved on as well. He considered his time at Texas Tech a "success," because "They showed me the level of competition I have to face. I see everything as a success. If you ex- perience something, it's a success, and it just depends on how you receive it." He proved more than ready to receive a welcome from the Florida Atlantic head coach. Even before their fateful post-failure confab, Goldin appreciated the vibe he garnered whenever he en- countered his new head coach. "I like him, because of how simple it was," Goldin noted. "It was different from Texas Tech. Because it was a top program, everybody was cool — maybe a little bit too cool for me. I'm a pretty simple person, so I'm not sure if I liked it. I met Coach May, and we started talking … it wasn't too cool. It was real." It got very real when Florida Atlan- tic surged to unprecedented success. Goldin found the state of Florida "very hot," but didn't mind the heat of a deep NCAA Tournament run. He also enjoyed the impact it made on the university community and young fans in the area. "It was amazing," Goldin said. "We were able to change the program at Florida Atlantic and play in many big games. It was one of the best feelings in my career, for sure. "It was cool to see how we could change, not just the basketball pro- gram, but the whole campus. We started winning, and everybody started liking basketball more. That's what it's about. Little kids like 5, 6, 7, 10 years old, they started trying to be like us. It shows how big of an impact we had on these little kids, and that shows we represented well." NEXT UP: CRISLER CENTER Goldin's first Ann Arbor impression, he said with a laugh, involved the dearth of cell reception at Michigan Stadium on a football Saturday. But he was blown away by the atmosphere and by the rec- ognition from fans before his season to come ever tipped off. "It was insane, before football started, to see fans excited about basketball," Goldin said. "So many people talk to me and say, 'What do you think? How does it look?' I tried to tell them as much as I could. The fan base is amazing. We haven't played a basketball game yet, but I've seen what football is about. "That's a different level. We talk about one of the top, historic programs in the nation." His basketball expectations are cer- tainly lofty. At the same time, he's look- ing to not get too carried away, before any real adversity sets in. For someone used to making big moves, he's hoping this one could mark his best yet. "Expectations are unlimited," Goldin stressed. "We see the potential. We see the type of talent we have. We see the work ethic we have. It just blows my mind how high the ceiling is. "At the same time, that's the most dangerous thing. When you feel too good about what's going to happen, you need to be ready to embrace it. "Do we have the talent, do we have the ability to win all of it? One-hundred percent. Do we need to stay focused through lows and highs? That's going to be the hardest challenge for us." There's also a completely new mix, with May forced to import nearly an entire roster, from far-flung venues. Despite that, Goldin feels a strong con- nection to his new teammates and likes the emphasis on the mission at hand. "It's been great," he said. "Everybody is about one thing — winning. That helps us a lot. It puts away all the differ- ent stuff. We understand what's going to work and what's not going to work. If we try to be about me, it's not going to help in any way. We know if we play the basketball like the coaching staff tells us to play, do the things they ask us, we're going to show everybody that basketball is an exciting thing here. "It's going to be fun. We have a pretty good team." Goldin also brings with him a pretty good idea about the direction from the top. For a man on the move, he embraces that direction. ❑ May Weighs In On His Big Man Tandem Dusty May knows exactly what he has in 7-foot-1 center Vladislav Goldin. He's got a decent handle on junior transfer Danny Wolf, who checks in as a 7-foot forward/center. Together, they'll look to make a huge impact this winter. "Last year, Vlad played 25 minutes a game," May noted. "In a perfect world, we'd get him a few more minutes. But we play up-tempo, with a lot of possessions, so it's difficult for our players to play 32 to 35 minutes a game, if we're playing the style we'd like to play. Vlad will probably hover around the mid-20s, if he's at his best. "That left us playing Danny at probably 14 minutes a game at the five, when Vlad's not in, is how we envision it. We'll play, stylistically, a different brand of basketball. Danny will be more of a five-out, and a facilitator. Vlad is still more of a traditional center, but also he's expanded his game. We envision those guys playing together significant minutes, and also complementing each other." — John Borton The presence of 7-1 Goldin (left) and 7-0 Danny Wolf will give Michigan a complementary pair of 7-footers this season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS