Michigan basketball: Vlad Goldin finalist for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as nation’s best C

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For the second day in a row, a Michigan basketball 7-footer has earned national recognition.

Vladislav Goldin, U-M’s 7-foot-1, 250-pound center, was named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, presented annually to the nation’s top center. The other four finalists are Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, Maryland’s Derik Queen, Oregon’s Nate Bittle and Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud.

On Thursday, Goldin’s fellow 7-footer, Danny Wolf, was named a finalist for the Karl Malone Award, for the nation’s top power forward.

Michigan center Vladislav Goldin (50) celebrates a play against Northwestern during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.

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Goldin, who followed head coach Dusty May from Florida Atlantic to Ann Arbor this season, leads the Wolverines in scoring at 16.3 points per game, including 10 games with at least 20 points (highlighted by a career-high 36 at UCLA).

He is second among Wolverines (behind Wolf) in rebounding at 6.7 per game, with six games of at least 10 boards. That includes a career-high 15 against Maryland and Queen on Wednesday.

Goldin has five double-doubles and is second in the Big Ten (and seventh nationally in field goal percentage (63.7%). He has also shown touch beyond the arc, going 9-for-25 (36%) on 3s with the Wolverines after not attempting a 3 in four seasons with FAU and Texas Tech.

This is the latest highlight in an incredible season on and off the court for Goldin. The Russian big man entered the season not having seen his parents in person in nearly five seasons. They arrived from Russia late last month to see his final two home games (before he convinced them to stick around for Sunday’s matchup at MSU). That came just one week he proposed to long-time girlfriend Camryn Vogler, who said yes, following U-M’s loss to Michigan State in Ann Arbor last month.

Fans can vote online for the award,…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/michigan-basketball-vlad-goldin-finalist-201624083.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-03-07 20:16:00

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