The college basketball season came to a close earlier this week when the UConn basketball team took down Purdue in the national title game. It was the second national title in a row for the Huskies, and with it, the season came to a close. Now, the offseason is upon us, and with coaching changes and the transfer portal, there will be no shortage of news in the coming months. We already saw a lot of big changes during the NCAA Tournament, and the transfer portal was open during that time as well. Now that is everything is done, however, things are really going to ramp up.
Today's era of college basketball is very different than it was just a few years ago before the NIL days and before players could transfer to other schools so easily. A lot of people have issues with the way that things are going in this era. Most people agree on the positives and see why NIL and the transfer portal are the way they are. Schools were making huge profits off of these players without them getting any money in the past. It also used to be much more difficult to transfer schools, and a lot of kids had good reason to do it but couldn't just because it was such a big ordeal and they would often have to sit out for a season.
Now, everything has changed, and for those two reasons, it has had a positive impact on the game. However, it also led to players asking for absurd amounts of NIL money from schools before they have even done anything, and some players decide to transfer the second that things aren't going perfectly at one school. Because of that, there are people that have an issue with this era of college sports. It's difficult to find the perfect balance.
Still, the transfer portal is there and it is a huge part of the game now. When a coach leaves a school, there is almost always a large amount of transfer exits from that school. However, a new coach comes in and has access to the transfer portal and can build up a roster before the season begins. With the portal being available for everybody, there is always hope in the offseason of revamping a roster when in the past there wasn't much of a chance to do that.
Florida Atlantic basketball big Vladislav Goldin is in the transfer portal
One team that has already lost their head coach this offseason is Florida Atlantic basketball, and they have a few players in the transfer portal now because of it. One of those players is big man Vladislav Goldin. Goldin has had a great college career and he will be looking to join his third team via the transfer portal. He started his career with Texas Tech before transferring to Florida Atlantic after his freshman season. He has spent the last three years with Florida Atlantic, but he is now looking for a new home.
Goldin just finished up a big season for the Owls as he averaged 15.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 0.7 APG. After making the Final Four the previous season, Goldin and Florida Atlantic had high hopes for this past season, and they did make it back into the NCAA Tournament.'
Florida Atlantic's Final Four run in 2023 was special. The Owls were a nine seed in the NCAA Tournament and no one was expecting very much out of them. However, they just kept winning and they made it all the way to the Final Four before losing on a heartbreaking buzzer beater to San Diego State.
The Owls returned much of their team this season and they were ranked highly to start the year. They had a solid season and got into the NCAA Tournament as an eight seed, but they lost against Northwestern in the first round.
Shortly after their season came to a close, head coach Dusty May left the program and took the Michigan basketball head coaching job. Vladislav Goldin entered the transfer portal shortly after that, and now he is looking for his next destination in the transfer portal.
Best Vladislav Goldin fits
Michigan
The best fit for Vladislav Goldin is Michigan basketball, and he has received some crystal balls to go play for his head coach Dusty May and the Wolverines. This fit makes a ton of sense for Goldin. He is clearly talented enough to compete in any conference in college basketball. The Big Ten will provide a bigger challenge than what he saw while playing with Florida Atlantic, and he would also get to stay with May.
This would be a huge get for May and Michigan as well. The Wolverines just finished up one of their worst seasons in program history and they lost a ton of players to the transfer portal when Juwan Howard got fired. May needs to get a lot of talent from the portal this offseason and getting guys that he is familiar with would be huge.
Michigan will need a big man for next season, and Goldin would come in and be an immediate starter easily. There are other guys from Florida Atlantic that are in the portal as well, and they would also be a good fit for this Michigan team being coached by Dusty May.
UConn
One team that reached out to Vladislav Goldin in the portal is UConn basketball, the defending champions of the past two college basketball seasons. It seems like Goldin is leaning toward Michigan according to reports, but it would be hard not to consider the Huskies after the dominance that they have shown in the past two years. They are losing some key talent from this national title team and are looking to add some more of it from the transfer portal. Goldin is one of the guys that they have reached out to.
After seeing the way big man Donovan Clingan has played at UConn, it has to look like an attractive option for anyone that plays the same position. Goldin is leaning toward the Wolverines, but don't be surprised if he gives UConn some thought if they are really serious about bringing him into the program.
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