The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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34 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2024 BY CHRIS BALAS M ichigan basketball will have a much different look in 2024-25 with several of its own players having exited via the transfer portal and nu- merous others in the portal who are al- ready on new head coach Dusty May's radar and now taking a closer look at the Wolverines. Here are the players in the portal the Wolverines were showing the most interest in as of April 8: • Vladislav Goldin, C, Florida Atlantic: The 7-foot-1 center aver- aged career highs with 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game for May this past year. He was a part of the Owls' Final Four run during the 2022-23 season, logging a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double in the 79-76 win over Kansas State in the Elite Eight. After one year at Temple, Goldin eventually started 106 of the 107 games he played for FAU over a three-year span. Michigan has been a heavy favorite here, but NIL could play a factor. UConn recently contacted him and has a lot of money to spend. However, most believe he'll end up in Ann Arbor. • Johnell Davis, G, Florida Atlan- tic: A 6-foot-4 combo guard from Gary, Ind., Davis shared American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors this season after averaging 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists, all career highs. He also shot a career-best 41.4 percent from three-point range. Davis went for 35 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Owls to a 96-95 double-over- time win over Arizona in Las Vegas this past December. He played a key role on FAU's Final Four team in 2022-23, aver- aging 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds after moving into the starting lineup for the final 13 games of the season. Davis is focused on the NBA Draft, but May hired coach Akeem Miskdeen from Georgia — he helped recruit Davis to FAU — so that helps. Louisville also is going after him hard, as are others. NIL could play a factor here — there are reports he could demand money in the high six-figure range. • Alijah Martin, G, Florida Atlan- tic: The 6-2, 210-pound guard spent four seasons at FAU and averaged 13.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game this season. He shot 41.4 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from beyond the arc. Martin scored a season-high 26 points against Texas San Antonio Jan. 21. He also notched 25 against Texas A&M in the ESPN Events Invitational. There's been talk that he and Davis will probably end up at different schools. • Danny Wolf, C, Yale: May had an in-home visit with the 7-footer, and our sources say it went extremely well. Georgetown is on the list, Duke is kick- ing the tires, but early on it appeared the Wolverines were going to be tough to beat. We'll see if that remains the case. Would Wolf want to come and compete with Goldin, for example, if the FAU star picked Michigan? The 2023-24 first-team All-Ivy League selection from Glencoe, Ill., and Northfield Mount Hermon High School played last summer in the 2023 FIBA Under-20 European Championships for Israel in Greece. He won a silver medal and was second in scoring at 17.7 points per game, first in rebounding with 12.0 boards per game. Wolf led Yale in scoring at 14.1 points per game and in rebounding with 9.7. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Ivy League tournament. • Dante Maddox Jr., G, Toledo: L o u i sv i l l e , C re i g h to n , O k l a h o m a , Xavier, Illinois, Kansas and TCU join Michigan on the guard's "high interest" list. Maddox started his college career at Cal State Fullerton, spending two sea- sons in the Big West Conference from 2020-22. He also played the last two years at Toledo and now has one year of eligibility remaining. The 6-2, 195-pounder started all 32 games for the 20-12 Rockets this past season, averaging a team-high 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Wolverines Look To Transfer Portal For A Roster Rebuild Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis shared American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors this season after averaging 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists, all career bests. PHOTO COURTESY FAU ATHLETICS