CHICAGO — Vladislav Goldin is from Europe, but he has no intentions of returning home to continue his basketball career. The former Michigan center is at the NBA draft combine this week hoping to entice a team to draft him next month.
His lone season at Michigan helped him get here. Goldin declared for last year’s NBA draft, after spending three seasons at Florida Atlantic, and received some useful feedback.
“NBA (personnel) told me I have to play in one of the top leagues,” Goldin said on Wednesday. “I have to play against more physical teams. The Big Ten is the most physical league. It definitely helped me to understand what it’s like to play on this stage.”
At the combine, he measured a true 7-foot, even without shoes, and 253 pounds. Perhaps it was the tight-fitting combine-issued shirt, he looked even stronger on Wednesday than he did after Michigan’s season ended in the Sweet 16 in late March.
He didn’t play his best in Wednesday’s scrimmage, drawing a tough defensive assignment against potential future Wolverine Yaxel Lendeborg and trying to acclimate to new teammates who weren’t necessarily focused on getting Goldin the ball in good positions. He shot 1 of 6 from the field and was whistled for five fouls in 17 minutes. His communication defensively stood out; he was always talking and helping his teammates on that end. He’ll get another shot at five-on-five action on Thursday afternoon.
Asked what he’s looking to show scouts this week, Goldin kept it simple. “That I know how to play basketball. It might sound silly, but I know how to play basketball I’m trying to play the right way.”
Goldin, who turned 24 on Monday, came to America from Russia speaking little to no English. After a season at Texas Tech — one in which he didn’t play much and hardly remembers — he linked up with head coach Dusty May at Florida Atlantic. [They changed each other’s lives for the better](https://www.mlive.com/wolverines/2025/03/dusty-may-says-goodbye-to-vlad-goldin-the-player-who-changed-his-life.html), reaching a Final Four in 2023 and making their first year at Michigan a smashing success.
Goldin was a first-team All-Big Ten selection who led Michigan with 16.6 points per game. He added seven rebounds per game while shooting 61 percent from the field. He even [got engaged on the Crisler Center court after a game](https://www.mlive.com/wolverines/2025/02/she-said-yes-michigan-basketball-star-engaged-after-postgame-proposal.html). (The wedding is tentatively set for July 2026.) Goldin’s chemistry with fellow 7-footer Danny Wolf terrorized opposing defenses. Wolf, a potential lottery pick, is hoping his teammate and friend gets drafted too.
“What you’re getting is an unbelievably skilled ‘5’ with amazing touch, great hands, a very big frame,” Wolf said. He compared Goldin to the Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, a similarly-sized European who does most of his damage in the paint.
ESPN’s latest mock draft, released this week, had Goldin going No. 57 (out 59). Goldin isn’t paying any attention; that’s his agent’s job, he said. As of Wednesday evening, he hadn’t interviewed with any teams or given any thought to which team might take him.
“I just want to play in NBA,” he said. “That’s all I want and I’ll take anything.” If he has to go back overseas to play, he will.
Goldin said he was recently talking to friends back in Russia. He didn’t grow up in a city known for basketball. His size and, later, skill led him to the court, to America, to Michigan, to the NBA draft combine.
“It’s kind of like crazy how life can change if you just stay the course and keep working,” he said. Even though sometimes it doesn’t go well and you think, Why would I do it?
“But if you keep working, it can lead you to some great things.”