Dusty May

NIL being taken seriously. I've heard this was supposed to happen a year ago, but better late than never:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- NFL Players Association (NFLPA) executive Terése Whitehead, an expert in brand building and athlete marketing, has been appointed as University of Michigan Athletics' first in-house NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) Executive GM in collaboration with Altius Sports Partners (ASP) on Wednesday (May 8). Returning to her alma mater, Whitehead brings extensive experience as Vice President of Consumer Products & Strategy at NFL Players Inc., the for-profit business arm of the NFLPA. Whitehead will spearhead Michigan's NIL program in her new role, leading the department's strategy to provide athletes with comprehensive support and resources to capitalize on their NIL opportunities.

I wonder how much the sudden movement on this after a couple of years of dithering has to do with Sherrone Moore and Dusty May replacing Jim Harbaugh and Juwan Howard. No offense to the prior coaches meant; it's just that Harbaugh and Howard were both very famous athletes who could reasonably believe their star power made NIL relatively unimportant. Moore and May are not, and neither has the kind of bulletproof track record Harbaugh had. Both will seek every advantage they can get.

[After the JUMP: Brian Kelly said what]

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]

The end of amateurism. Ol' Jeff Kessler's finally going to put a stake in the heart of the NCAA, it seems, with his latest lawsuit. This one is seeking vast amounts of damages for players who were denied their NIL opportunities. The prospect of a four billion dollar judgment has finally caused the administrator class to throw in the towel. Details are still scanty, but the general shape of it:

With the settlement expected to cost billions in back pay for former athletes, it would likely also require the NCAA and conferences to agree to a system for sharing more revenue with some of the players moving forward.

Sources indicated the top-end revenue share number per school -- once it's determined -- would be in the neighborhood of $20 million annually, although that's yet to be settled. Whatever number is set by the settlement, individual schools will be able to opt in to share revenue up to that number with their student athletes at their discretion.

This is being portrayed as "revenue sharing," as the NCAA hopes to dodge the fact that their athletes are employees. That might also let them dance around Title IX issues that will arise once football and men's basketball players are raking in money that few female athletes are.

As far as the local angle: the faster athletic departments are directly paying players the better. Michigan obviously has the capability to hit the max here, and I can't imagine that anyone has any illusions about the fact that they'll have to. I have no doubt that schools will continue to bring in outside money in an effort to win, and that Michigan won't be on the Kentucky/Memphis/OSU level there, but choosing between 200k and 250k is a lot different than nothing and 50k; the relative gaps will be smaller.

Speaking of NIL. Champions Circle has various autographed objects up for auction to support their NIL objectives:

Check it out as long as you do not bid on the thing I bid on.

[After THE JUMP: basketball speculation CONTINUES]