Area 50-1 is the moniker given to Michigan’s two 7-foot newcomers.
The school shared the tag on social media.Tuesday night, following a 67-64 victory against No. 11 Wisconsin to start the Big Ten season, which featured incredible numbers from Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf.
Wolf dons uniform No. 1, while Goldin dons No. 50. This season, both moved to Michigan.
The Wolverines wrote, “We’ve got some ALIENS in our front court,” on X, the former Twitter. “Do not enter the paint.”
Their performance gave notice that, under new coach Dusty May, Michigan (7-1) appears determined to recover from an 8-24 season and get back into the Big Ten picture.
Goldin, who joined May in traveling from Florida Atlantic to Michigan, stated, “I feel like we’re a fairly new team, but I feel like we made huge steps forward in playing together and learning each other.”
FAU’s 2023 Final Four team featured 7-foot-1 center Goldin, who scored a career-high 24 points against Wisconsin. He scored the game’s last six points with three consecutive baskets.
In addition to his 20 points, Wolf, a 7-foot Yale player, added seven rebounds, five assists, a career-high five blocks, and three steals.
After his team’s sixth consecutive victory, May remarked, “The way he dribbles, the way he shoots, the way he can create space, he really is a guard in a 7-footer’s body.”
However, it took some time for these two large men to figure out how to work well together.
In his final season at Florida Atlantic, Goldin averaged 15.7 points per game; yet, in his first six games at Michigan, he only scored in double figures once. Wolf scored 19 points in three consecutive games.
“I think it always goes back to our coaches’ trust in us,” Wolf stated. “As a team, we undoubtedly had a few difficult games, but other guys came through to help us win. Coach has been there for us through everything.
Last week, the breakthrough was made.
Goldin contributed 18 points and Wolf scored 20 points and pulled down 14 boards in Wednesday’s 78-53 thumping of then-No. 22 Xavier. The matchup issues they can create as two 7-footers with complimentary skills were demonstrated in that game.
The Goldin-Wolf tandem was too strong for Wisconsin, a unique club that also starts two 7-footers in Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter.
In the closing minutes, Wolf frequently found Goldin for simple baskets, and the two of them scored 44 of Michigan’s 67 points over the Badgers. Winter finished with eight points and five rebounds, while Crowl finished with two points and four rebounds in less than 22 minutes before fouling out.
“They’re both vets,” Winter remarked. “They have been doing this for a long time. Their games are a great match for one another. Our defense had some problems since they were in that type of 5-4 ball screen, but they played incredibly well.”
Enough so that, only one game into their Big Ten careers, they have a memorable nickname.
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