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Some players of the Michigan men’s basketball team have experience playing in the NCAA Tournament. Others have played in the Big Ten. And a few were already familiar with Ann Arbor before this fall. But only Vlad Goldin knew what it’s like to play under first-year coach Dusty May.
The graduate center is the sole follower of May from Florida Atlantic. On a roster of players plucked from “winning programs” with a variety of experiences, Goldin’s familiarity and connection with May are unique.
Already that’s made him the go-to guy for helping teammates understand the sometimes unfamiliar style of a new coach.
“He buys into everything (the coaching staff) says and gives a little bit more of a grounded approach to what they’re doing, and has experience with it,” graduate forward Danny Wolf, a transfer from Yale, said at Big Ten Media Days Oct. 3. “He’s a built in leader, and he’s always smiling. He’s always in a great mood. And I think guys can lean on him for advice when they need it.”
After a freshman season of limited minutes at Texas Tech, Goldin moved to Boca Raton to join the Owls. And over the past three years, he continued to believe in May’s teaching — reaping the benefits of a slow progression that has transformed him into one of the better centers in college basketball, earning second-team all-AAC honors last season.
He went from averaging 6.8 points per game in his first season at FAU, to 15.7 last season on a highly efficient 67.3% clip. Given those steady jumps he has taken every year, Goldin hopes to continue on an upward trajectory this season.
“He’s continued to add more to his game each year,” May said. “And that’s selfishly for his own personal ambition to play, hopefully at the highest level of professional basketball, but also just to be more of a matchup nightmare and have more positional versatility. He works incredibly hard. He’s a great teammate.”
Goldin’s continuous improvement each season is reflected in his numbers, and even more so in the Owls’ success in May’s final two seasons. That combination of team and personal success is likely why he followed his coach across the country, and it’s why he’s helping his teammates adjust to their new coach.
“Culture is such a broad word, I hope we can build something together,” Goldin said. “And I’m trying my best to help with culture and with some kind of explanation (in practice).”
While Goldin is hesitant to define the “culture” being established within the Wolverines’ program, he wants to be a foundational part of what May is starting. He has already experienced the heights of what May built at FAU, experiencing and contributing to May’s development of a middling Conference USA school into a Final Four team.
So as May leads his first practices with Michigan, Goldin has made sure everyone is listening and everyone is understanding. Because among a roster of 11 newcomers, he is the rock of familiarity — and the anchor of belief.
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