After a somewhat prolonged process, Michigan formally announced the addition of Vlad Goldin last week. 

In our internal slack chats I wasn't so subtle in stating that Goldin would be a bigger get in relation to Johnell Davis regardless of what any transfer ranking would have you believe. Seven-footers with true two-way impact aren't typically available for programs such as Michigan, particularly those in the portal. The necessary resources typically exceed what Michigan can reasonably offer.

It would be an understatement to say that I'm excited about Goldin.  This is a massive pick-up for the Wolverines, both literally and figuratively.

SCOUTING (Offense)

First and foremost, Vlad is an outstanding finisher at the rim. He converted 72% of his 200 attempts at the rim last season. Goldin routinely finishes over length and through contact.

I have zero doubts as to whether this facet of his game will translate, as the clips above have Vlad finishing over Charleston behemoths James Scott/Ante Brzovic and Coleman Hawkins with relative ease. The volume lends credence to this as well, as a whopping 200 out of 303 total FGAs from Goldin last season were at the rim per Torvik. He's going to own the restricted area. 

The thing that really popped on film review is Vlad's impeccable touch. He consistently converts "other twos". Functionally those come in the form of jumphooks, and he's superb using both hands.An ambidextrous 7-footer with elite touch is quite the weapon at the college level. For context, Goldin shot 58.3% on 103 "other two" attempts per Torvik. That is ridiculous efficiency on high volume for a shot type that is generally considered sub-par. Having a 7-foot Tony Parker is hard to visualize, but here we are. 

Vlad is also adept as a back-to-the-basket scorer. He has above-average pivoting/footwork, understands where his spots are and is patient in getting to them. He doesn't settle much. 

Goldin does really well for himself absorbing initial contact and maintaining balance. He usually gets the better of his defender after that initial contact and leverages his superior size and impeccable touch to convert. 

[After THE JUMP: the exact archetype Michigan needs]

Michigan's newest big man is also a good roll-man option in the ballscreen game. While he's not necessarily the lob-threat we often see at the NBA level, Vlad has good hands and has the sheer size/length to finish with authority.

And because of his touch, Goldin isn't restricted to rim finishes when utilized as a roll-man option. Again, the ability to convert floater-esque shot types is such a big weapon. A 7-footer stopping on a dime and converting the off-hand floater through contact here isn't easy at all.  

I'm not going to sell you on Vlad being a quintessential stretch big that stresses opposing defenses from three. He's not that. But he does display some shooting prowess as a pick-and-pop threat operating in the midrange.  

SCOUTING (Defense)

With the remainder of the roster lacking a true rim-deterrent, Goldin's ability to block and alter shots is absolutely the biggest boost to the team. As a senior with FAU, Vlad posted an impressive 6.8 block rate. Filtering that to top-50 opponents, the block rate jumps up to 10 (!). 

He has some versatility as shotblocker. I came away impressed with his ability to turn the hips on the move and still get solid elevation to block shots as we see here.

He's also a presence as a traditional anchor that blocks shots while playing centerfield in drop coverage.

Goldin also has a few wow moments where you think he might have just enough athleticism to carve out a spot on an NBA roster. Here's Vlad blocking a true jumpshot from 6'6 Hayden Hefner of Texas A&M.  

The sheer size/length/strength is quite the weapon at the college level as well. Goldin completely overwhelms a 6'6 Brooks Barnhizer here and you can see the massive size discrepancy at play.  

Vlad doesn't move well enough to be a legit switch-option and so he's going to be drop-coverage almost exclusively. He projects as one of the better rim protectors in the B10, if he can avoid foul trouble. Goldin posted an impressive 2.7 fouls per 40 minutes in AAC games as a senior, but that number jumped all the way up to 5.9 foul per 40 minutes versus top-50 opponents. In tandem with the lack of agility, this is all the more reason you'll see Dusty May take a conservative defensive approach with Vlad in drop-coverage nearly every possession. 

Goldin is a good, not great rebounder. Torvik has him with a 19.5 Dreb rate during his senior season. Against top-50 opponents however, that number drops to 15.2. That is slightly underwhelming accounting for the size, but not red-flag material by any means. He'll need to up the physicality a bit when crashing the glass in the B10. 

PROJECTION

This is likely the easiest projection of the season. Vlad Goldin slots in as Michigan's starting center that will play ~30 minutes per game. Based on his versatile paint scoring profile (roll-man, back-to-basket, face-up, dumpoff for floater), we'll see him score in the 13-17ppg range. Defensively, Vlad is going to provide good rim protection to the tune of 1.5+ blocks per game while giving Michigan 6-8 boards a night. 

Beyond the statistical projections, Goldin is the guy that connects the dots for Dusty May. The roster has four viable shot-creators in Jones, Donaldson, Gayle and Wolf. A wing-slasher in Gayle. Four perimeter shotmakers/floorspacers in Walters, Jones, Donaldson and Burnett. POA defenders in Jones, Burnett and Gayle. The Wolverines had a glaring hole with respect to rim-protection and rim-finishing. Enter, Vlad Goldin.

Goldin is going to unlock a lot for Dusty May. Offensively, he's the ultimate release valve as a gargantuan human that possesses great touch with both hands in tandem with a giant catch radius. Vlad is going to make life easy for our shot-creators that collapse the defense off the bounce. He's also good enough to create his own offense on lower volumes, particularly against favorable matchups. 

From a lineup configuration perspective, Goldin has the exact profile you want next to Danny Wolf. They largely cover the weaknesses for one another and have complimentary skillsets. Vlad isn't a shot-creator/passer by any means, but Wolf can exist next to Goldin because he is a superb passer and a respectable shooter. Danny isn't a great finisher at the rim, and he won't need to be with Goldin patrolling the paint area. 

In short, a two-big lineup is viable with a Vlad/Wolf duo. We're seeing this at nearly every level of basketball in the last 7-8 years - bigger is better. The B10 is clearly being dominated by bigs in recent years, with guard-play nearly becoming an afterthought. In the NBA, Golden State was once viewed as game-changing in terms of transitioning basketball to a small-ball, finesse-based game. But that appears to be more of an outlier at this point. Since 2020, we've seen a return to bigger/lengthier, more athletic teams setting the standard. The majority of high-level basketball teams these days are playing multiple bigs at the same time and simply suffocating the opposition. 

With all that said, I'm inclined to think Vlad Goldin is perhaps Michigan's best two-way player next season. If the roster is able to generate chemistry and master Dusty May's system (Goldin should help in that regard), Vlad is likely going to be a first/second team B10 type player. He's at the intersection of size/length/strength + experience + opportunity on what projects to be a tournament-caliber team.