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Texas Tech basketball: Russian big man Vlad Goldin officially joins the program

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 02: General view of a rack of Under Armour basketballs taken before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns on January 02, 2016 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 82-74. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - JANUARY 02: General view of a rack of Under Armour basketballs taken before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Texas Longhorns on January 02, 2016 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 82-74. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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Thursday, 7-footer Vladislav Godin from Russia officially signed a letter of intent with the Texas Tech basketball program.

The Texas Tech basketball team got quite a bit bigger on Thursday.  That’s because 7-foot-1 Vladislav Goldin from Russia officially joined the program for the 2020-21 season.

The 220-pounder played last year at Putnam Science Academy, which is a school Tech has mined rather heavily in the Chris Beard era.  Previously, former Red Raiders Josh Mballa, Malik Ondigo, and Russell Tchewa all played their high school basketball at that school as well.

https://twitter.com/TexasTechMBB/status/1281307062979436547?s=20

It has been rumored that Goldin was a silent commit to Tech for months but his 247Sports profile doesn’t show an official offer from Tech until Thursday.  Likely, Tech was waiting for the rest of the roster shuffle to shake out before committing to giving Goldin a spot on the roster.

This news likely means one of two offseason questions has been answered for the Red Raiders.  Most likely is that the coaching staff knows that the nation’s top recruit, Jonathan Kuminga, is not coming to Tech but rather is going to play in the NBA G League.  However, it could also mean that the coaches are more certain that guard Jahmi’us Ramsey will be staying in the NBA Draft.

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Both of those scenarios are likely to happen anyway but by giving one of the 13 available scholarships to Goldin, we can be certain that the coaches know that they don’t have to have two spots in limbo.  Still, Tech is already over the limit with 15 players currently in the mix.

Right now, Tech will welcome back Terrence Shannon Jr. Kevin McCullar Jr., Kyler Edwards, Clarence Nadolny, and Avery Benson, from this past season’s team.  Also on scholarship are Joel Ntambwe and Tyreek Smith, neither of whom played last year because of NCAA transfer rules and a foot injury respectively.

In the incoming freshman class, Beard has signed Nimari Burnett, Micah Peavy, and Chibuzo Agbo.  What’s more, he’s bringing about transfers Esahaia Nywie, Marcus Santos-Silva, Mac McClung, and Jamarius Burton, the latter of whom is expected to redshirt the upcoming season.

So with Goldin in the mix, one has to wonder if Nadolny might be on the chopping block after playing the fewest minutes last year of any player still in the program.  Also, it is fair to question if Benson will remain on scholarship after spending his first two years in Lubbock as a walk-on.  Those two moves would clear out two scholarships for Tech to get to 13.

As for Goldin, he has played for the Russian U18 and U19 National Teams.  That’s similar international experience that Davide Moretti brought to Tech when he signed as a freshman.

Goldin is rated a 4-star prospect by 247Sports and the No. 25 center in the class of 2020.  You can see some of his highlights from his time with Team Russia last summer here.

What stands out from those clips is his ability to finish with both hands around the rim.  In fact, his hands, in general, seem like an asset (which is not always the case for high school big men) as he has no problem corraling tough passes and gathering the ball in rhythm thus allowing him to make a play at the rim.

He also appears to be a fluid athlete who can get up and down the court with spectacular ease.  In addition, Goldin displays a beautiful jump shot that looks much more developed than what most kids of his size have at that stage of their basketball careers.  That’s likely a product of playing overseas for much of his life.

In the Chris Beard era, high school big men have not stuck around long.  In fact, none of the previous Putnam bigs have lasted more than two seasons.

Next. Potential starting lineups without Moretti. dark

But the refinement of Goldin’s skills seems to be more advanced than was the case for his Putnam predecessors and that could mean that he is able to contribute right away.  If that is the case, this could finally be the first high school center Beard has recruited to the Texas Tech basketball program that we can expect to see in the program for the duration of his college career.

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