The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 31 2025 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE of Wagner and another Orlando Magic performer, Paolo Banchero. "They're all versatile," the 6-foot- 7, 225-pound power forward pointed out. "They're comfortable putting the ball on the floor and beating the de- fender, and then comfortably shooting the three and using their size to their advantage." Goodman won't receive his first in- troduction to Michigan basketball when practice begins in the fall. He's already been banging and battling with Goldin, Danny Wolf and others who made up the Big Ten Tournament champions this past year. Goodman enrolled early at Michigan on Jan. 7, joining the squad for the back half of the season. He'll be a redshirt freshman in the coming year, ready to compete for a team getting a significant offseason remake. May can't wait to begin utilizing Goodman's talents in the 2025-26 mesh. "Oh man … I think he's got a real winning DNA," May said. "I think he's someone who really, really cares about his teammates. He's played with physi- cality in practice. … It's an adjustment, and that's why we wanted to bring him over, so this adjustment would happen now." May understands the adjustment as well as anyone. He knew about the physicality in the Big Ten, but after wit- nessing it firsthand, night after night, he concluded that one of the priorities for the Wolverines in the coming sea- son would involve being able to go toe- to-toe with the more bruising rosters. He brought in 6-9, 255-pound enforcer forward Morez Johnson Jr. from Illinois via the transfer portal, and hopes — as Goodman intends — to get a physicality boost from the New Zealander. Goodman insists he's OK with that line of thinking. He likes to mix it up, as well as use finesse to get the job done on the court. "I just think he's going to be a guy that impacts winning," May said. "He's done it his entire career. He addresses some of our deficiencies, which is the physi- cality, the ability to get to basketballs. He's quick off the floor with two feet. He likes contact. So, we think he'll be someone the Michigan fans will enjoy watching." Goodman's basketball development became greatly enhanced by his in- volvement in the NBA Global Academy in Australia. A year ago, he performed in the FIBA U17 World Cup in Istanbul, helping New Zealand capture fourth place. His production — 17.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game — landed him on the all-tourna- ment team. He garnered some attention from professional scouts in the U.S., as well as from college coaches such as May. "He's been a four-man, a power for- ward up to this point," May said. "He's a really good driver … he's an aggressive finisher around the basket. In our fin- ishing drills, he's one of our better fin- ishers now. He has a reliable three-point shot when he has time and his feet are set, but now we're trying to expand his game where he's a better shooter, which will set up his quick first step drive with the ball." On3's Jamie Shaw sums up Good- man's game as follows: "Goodman has a sturdy frame and a strong skill base. Standing 6-foot-7, he plays with great balance, able to dribble, shoot, or pass. Goodman is tough, he does not shy away from any physicality in the game. He has good instincts, which help him be a good team defender and a solid area rebounder despite being an average ath- lete. With that toughness, he also plays with an excellent motor, that consis- tently runs hot." Shaw went on to say that offensively, Goodman has nice touch on his shot and is comfortable as a pick-and-pop threat or spacing in the corners. "He will need to continue working on his release consistency, which should help with his shot arc, and hitting all his balance points through his shot load," said the On3 analyst. "Where Goodman finds a lot of success is facing the basket and attacking the paint/rim. He can be a bully with the ball, getting his body and shoulder into a defender to knock them off balance. He has nice touch around the basket, with both hands, and is sturdy enough to not be knocked offline when he is attacking the rim. "Goodman sees the floor well, he is comfortable having an offense run through him, and the coach can trust him to make decisions in the half-court. While he does not have top-of-the-line measurables and is not a twitchy ath- lete, he has strength, IQ , and a high motor that help him adapt to most situations. Even with that, he has seen consistent international success when suiting up for his country's junior na- tional teams." Attitude counts along with all the physical attributes, in May's estimation. Goodman checks that box, too. "He's awesome to coach," May said. "He's got the personality traits you want from a good, talented basketball player." That sort of belief helped bring Good- man from the beaches of Opunake to the again-sizzling basketball hotbed in Ann Arbor. "The belief the coaches had in me was a big thing," Goodman stressed. "My goal is to make the NBA, and Coach May is a real big believer that I have a chance of cracking it. That was a big thing, and then the opportunity to play. He didn't say that I was going to play, but he said I could definitely fight for a position to play early on." ❏ Goodman By The Numbers • Described by U-M coach Dusty May as a strong finisher, Goodman shot 63 percent from around the rim at the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup. He averaged 2 dunks per game in that competition. • Goodman earned MVP honors at the 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship. He led his team in scoring and locked down a spot on the all-tournament first-team roster. • Goodman reclassified from the 2025 class to 2024, allowing him to enroll in Michigan and partici- pate with the team in the final three months of the 2024-25 basketball season. • He had an On3 Industry Ranking as the No. 251 overall prospect and the No. 50 power forward in the 2025 class. • Goodman helped Michigan gain a spot among On3's six "under the radar" recruiting classes for the early signing period. These were classes considered by On3's Jamie Shaw to be most likely to eventually outperform their recruiting ranking. The schools with classes on the list included Michigan (No. 27, with shooting guard Trey McKenney and small forward Winters Grady joining Goodman) as well as Houston, Georgia, Iowa State, Penn State and Northwestern. — John Borton