Texas Tech basketball: A 2020 H.S. player not named Kuminga Tech fans should know

Texas Tech basketball fans need to keep the name Vlad Goldin in the back of their minds because the powerful 7-footer could be a Red Raider next season.

Sometimes players from overseas go under the radar and that could be the case for 2020 big man Vlad Goldin.  So while Texas Tech basketball fans continue to wait on a decision from the nation’s top player, Jonathan Kuminga, keep the Russian 7-footer’s name filed away in your memory because he could wind up being part of Chris Beard’s program, especially if Kuminga heads to the NBA G-League or the international pro leagues.

Goldin is currently ranked by 247Sports as the No. 30 center in the class of 2020 and the No. 186 player in the nation.  A 3-star prospect, he just spent his first year playing in the United States at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut.

If that school sounds familiar, it’s because in recent years Tech has singed Putnam products, Josh Mballa, Russell Tchewa, and Malik Ondigo.  Of course, none are still in the program as they left after not being able to crack Chris Beard’s regular rotation early in their careers.

One has to wonder if Goldin would be able to reverse that trend.  After all, he doesn’t look like a long-term project.

After watching the above highlight video, a few aspects of his game stand out.  First of all, he has tremendous hands when receiving the ball.  On a number of occasions, he catches tough lobs or humming bounce-passes and finishes the play with ease.  That’s something that all three of the other Red Raider big men from Putnam that we mentioned earlier struggled to do in their brief Red Raider careers.

In this video, some of his work with his back to the basket is on display.  That includes one play where he finishes with his left hand.  What’s more, he also displays a knack for passing the ball as well as putting it on the court, two skills that every big man must possess to play in Beard’s motion offense.

Speaking of putting the ball on the floor and passing it, watch how well he does both in the above video.   At the 0:09 second mark of the clip, he pulls down a rebound, pushes the ball the length of the court, and then finds an open teammate in the corner for a 3-pointer.  That’s not the type of play that most high school 7-footers are known to make with any type of regularity.

"“Vlad Goldin…has shown signs of stardom in his first season in the states,” says NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com. The 7-footer has a good build and solid athleticism around the rim, finishes well, changes ends, has potential as a low-post scorer, and the type of physical presence that should really emerge in a college weight room. He’s still uncommitted for the time-being but considered a very hard lean for Texas Tech.”"

So is Goldin coming to Texas Tech this fall?  Who knows?  Perhaps not even Chris Beard or Goldin himself.

According to 247Sports, Texas Tech is Goldin’s only offer of any kind at the moment.  And according to the NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com, he’s committed to the Red Raiders.

But there is a significant scholarship log jam going on in Lubbock with only 13 spots to give out and currently 15 players in the program.  What’s more, Tech could see Kuminga decide to come to the South Plains and Jahmi’us Ramsey might also forego the NBA Draft and come back to school (though that seems rather unlikely at this point).

Therefore, we might not know whether or not Goldin is going to be part of Tech’s next team until those two dominos fall.  But if both Kuminga and Ramsey decide to play professionally next year, Goldin might be a late addition to the roster.  If that happens, the Red Raiders will be adding an intriguing big man who could fortify one of the few question marks the 2020 Texas Tech basketball might have, height in the post.