Nowadays, it’s not too common to see two seven footers sharing the court for the same team. In an era of positionless basketball, where versatility is key, having two big men that big has potential to limit a team’s flexibility.
But by landing 7-foot-1 graduate center Vlad Goldin and 7-foot-0 junior center Danny Wolf in the transfer portal, the Michigan men’s basketball team put itself in a position to have two seven-footers on the court pretty consistently. Both were consensus top-50 players in the transfer portal, and both have a clear claim to plenty of playing time for the Wolverines.
Michigan isn’t shrinking away from its newfound height, though. Rather, the Wolverines know that while they might play the same position, Goldin and Wolf serve different roles.
“We’ll be able to play, stylistically, a different brand of basketball,” Michigan coach Dusty May said Tuesday. “Danny will be more of a five-out facilitator. Vlad’s still more of a traditional center, but he’s also expanding his game. So we definitely envision those guys playing together for significant minutes and also complementing each other.”
May suggested that Goldin is likely to play approximately 26 minutes at center, leaving 14 minutes for Wolf at his natural position. But given that Wolf spearheaded Yale’s offense during his last season with the Bulldogs and averaged over 14 points per game, the Wolverines will want to have him on the floor for more than just 14 minutes.
Offensively, it’s a natural fit. While Goldin occupies the paint, Wolf handles the ball particularly well for someone of his stature and can space the floor, shooting 34.5% from beyond the arc last season. And while playing them together raises more questions on the defensive end, May isn’t too concerned about that either.
“After watching Danny, we felt like he moves his feet well, he’s got good mobility for a seven footer and he embraces contact,” May said. “So we think with a summer of really strong, consistent weight work and speed work with our new strength coach then he’ll be ready to go.”
Goldin and Wolf aren’t Michigan’s only towering figures, either. Between sophomore forward Sam Walters, who’s listed at 6-foot-10, and redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter, May has a lot more height to work with than he’s used to. In his most recent seasons at Florida Atlantic, May often went in the complete opposite direction, typically playing a four-guard lineup.
“We definitely wanted to get bigger, especially in this league,” Wolverines assistant coach Kyle Church, who worked under May with the Owls, said. “The Big Ten is big, physical, strong guys. It’s not as up-and-down as the American and Conference USA where we’re coming from. So, definitely wanted to get bigger, I’m not sure if we envisioned this big.”
Despite their shared height, no two of the new frontcourt share the same skill set. May described Tschetter as a “shooting forward,” but one who has the ability to play a small-ball center. Walters is more of a true wing, one who, “if he shoots an open three, you might as well run back on defense,” according to Michigan assistant coach Akeem Miskadeen.
So while their listed heights might imply four similar big men with little to differentiate themselves, May instead has four unique players who use their size in different ways. Goldin will be key in helping create high-percentage shots around the rim, while the other three can knock down shots from deep — just like May’s best offenses always have. Even if the players themselves are taller, that doesn’t mean his style of offense has to change.
“I think we’re gonna be able to play very similarly,” May said. “… We’re going to be bigger, we probably won’t be quite as fast. But we recruited to do the things that we think produce the highest value shots, and that’s what we’re always going to look for.”
With a taller roster than even the coaching staff itself envisioned, there might be some growing pains when it comes to modifying an offensive system that most recently utilized four guards. But that height comes with different benefits to May’s system, and he’s not afraid to put a lot of it on the court at once.