Michigan C Vladislav Goldin has found a family with Dusty May and Co.

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Michigan rented Dusty May as the program’s 18th head coach, and it was no surprise that Center Vladislav Goldin followed him from Florida Atlantic to Ann Arbor. The 2.16 m tall and 109 kg player committed at the end of April, transferred to UM weeks later and is currently completing summer training with his new teammates.

There is a familiar feeling for those who were at Florida Atlantic and are now at Michigan, as May brought numerous staff members from his previous stop, including assistant coaches Kyle Church And Drew WilliamsonSpecial Assistant Brandon Gilbert and operations manager KT Harrell. Goldin is from Nalchick, Russia, and hasn’t been home for some time, but he feels at home with May and Co.

“First of all, it’s a great program,” Goldin explained why he chose Michigan on the podcast “Defend The Block” with host Brian Boesch.. “It’s always been attractive because it’s in Michigan. It’s probably one of the biggest sporting events in the history of any NCAA team. And the second reason is Coach May and the coaching staff. I prefer a relationship over anything else, so it was a pretty big deal for me.

“It’s hard to say how much he influenced my career, but he gave me a family. I haven’t seen my family in five years, but he’s probably one of the people who gave me a family, who made me feel like home. It’s incredible. It means a lot to me.”

Goldin speaks with his family almost every day, he said, in the mornings because of the time difference (Nalchick, Russia, is seven hours ahead of Ann Arbor).

The All-AAC second team selection for the 2023/24 season felt welcome in Michigan, which was also due to the familiar faces, including the graduate guard Nimari Burnetthis freshman roommate at Texas Tech in 2020-21.

“It’s really interesting because it’s a new program, everything’s new, new people – but then you see these people and you feel like you actually know someone!” Goldin exclaimed. “It’s great because I know how they talk, I know what kind of conversations we’re going to have, so it’s great because you see familiar faces.”

Goldin now speaks English well, but for a while this was a work in progress.

“Hard. Really hard,” Goldin said of the process. “When I first came here, I didn’t speak English that well at one point. We have English classes in Russia, but it’s a little different.”

“I had a tutor before I came to America, but when I came to America, my teammates were talking to me and I was like, ‘Oh my God. Now speak slower.’ It happened so fast. When they say it slower, I understand them, but just because you get nervous and you catch everything, they probably have to show me translations for the first few weeks, months or so. But you can, Nimari, he was surprised when I started speaking a little better in my first year.”

Goldin had some special times in his three seasons at Florida Atlantic, leading the team to the 2023 Final Four, where it lost to eventual national runner-up San Diego State. Goldin was productive throughout the run, culminating in a 14-point, 13-rebound, 2-assist, 2-block performance in a 79-76 win over Kansas State in the Elite Eight.

“Unbelievable,” Goldin said, reflecting on the tournament. “I have so many lights in my head that I’m like, ‘Wow.’ I’m not usually that easily impressed. I usually stay calm and say, ‘This happens, it’s OK.’ But when we talk about the Final Four and the whole run… I was in March Madness my first year and I loved it and all I could think about was playing in March Madness again. And then we got a chance and got to the Final Four, so it was like a dream.

“I was like a child. I tried to enjoy every detail around the arena and behind the arena and experience how big this event is.”

Goldin took another step forward as a player last season, helping Florida Atlantic to 25 wins and an 8th seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Northwestern in the first round. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game, hitting 67.3 percent of his shots from the field and 66.3 percent of his free throws.

“Probably confidence,” Goldin said of where he improved the most. “I knew what I was capable of, and I understood that sometimes you have to step into that role and lead the team through wins or losses – it doesn’t matter. Someone who has to step into that role. I’ve been around several guys who have taken that role in the season (in years past), and sometimes it’s been me. And I decided to do it as well as I can.”

He will do the same in his final college basketball season at Michigan. Although he is playing for a new place, he is there for his coach and around many familiar faces.