Michigan Basketball: Why Vladislav Goldin is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

Change has certainly come in Ann Arbor this past offseason, with Michigan basketball looking a lot different this upcoming year. After the program cratered last season, a coaching change was made and Dusty May was hired after his phenomenal work down at Florida Atlantic. The Wolverines won just eight games last season, though this year’s squad will be largely different and with higher hopes.

It’s not a complete reset at Michigan, though much of last season’s talent is gone. Both top scorers Dug McDainel and Terrance Williams transferred while Olivier Nkamhoua and a few others ran out of eligibility. The best returning player is Nimari Burnett, a talented guard with just one year of eligibility left himself, while forward Will Tschetter is another notable returner.

There are plenty of new faces this season, with May and his new staff raiding some prominent programs to refill their own rotation. The Wolverines actually landed shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr. from rival Ohio State while adding a pair of young players from the SEC: Auburn point guard Tre Donaldson and Sam Walters from Alabama. Former Yale center Danny Wolf, an Illinois native, was another top name in the portal that became a Wolverine, though it’s a different center that caught the attention.

Vladislav Goldin is a 7’1 center from Russia who has had quite the journey in college basketball already. As a freshman, he appeared in just 10 games at Texas Tech under Chris Beard before opting to transfer in the offseason. Goldin would find a home at Florida Atlantic and excelled, helping the Owls to that Final Four run in 2023. As a redshirt junior, he averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in a phenomenal effort this past season, helping Florida Atlantic back to the Big Dance again.

Goldin really came onto the scene during that miracle run to the Final Four, establishing himself as a legitimate center in this sport. This past season saw him take that to another level, making 67% of his field goal attempts with career-best scoring, rebounding, and shot-blocking figures. Goldin was named Second Team All-AAC this past season and finished 3rd in the nation in field goal percentage. Michigan is a step up from the AAC and those Owls but any team would love that kind of production from the 5-spot on the floor.

That’s exactly what May intends to get from the most important player following him from Boca Raton to Ann Arbor. Goldin has blossomed into this dominant frontcourt athlete over the last few seasons under May’s direction and now he gets a chance to compete against more powerful talent. Some of these other new faces have put up nice stats and played top competition, but a monster season out of Goldin could mean an immediate bounce back into contention for the Wolverines.

Before we get ahead of ourselves it’s important to remember that this is a very new Wolverines lineup that will need time to gel and come together. Regardless of who is playing the other four positions on the court, having a weapon at the back end like Goldin is a tremendous asset every day of the week. Has Michigan added enough talent to compete in an expanded Big Ten this season? Will there be any growing pains or is Goldin due for another explosive campaign?