Michigan’s supporting cast steps up for ailing Vlad Goldin in Penn State victory

It was hard to feel like there wasn’t something missing.

Even as junior guard Tre Donaldson sunk a 3-pointer that erupted Crisler Center, a certain something, or someone, was indeed out of the picture.

It was big Vlad Goldin, and in uncommon fashion, as the final seconds of a tight contest wound down for Michigan, the graduate big man was not at the typical center of attention. Suffering from an undisclosed illness, Goldin labored through 17 minutes of play and, when it mattered most, was unable to find the court in the final moments.

Notching four points and a negative six plus-minus, Goldin was not his usual self, and the Wolverines were abruptly challenged to find an answer to the biggest question of the night.

“Vlad came out, I don’t think he was feeling too good today,” graduate guard Rubin Jones said postgame. “I don’t even think he did shoot around this morning, but he came around. He still showed up for the team, still was a good teammate through it all. It’s a team game. Some guys go down, other guys got to step up. I think that’s what happened tonight.”

Locked in a near dead-heat against Penn State Monday night, the Wolverines were unable to press on the gas pedal and pull away. Whether for Goldin’s illness or another on-court ailment, Michigan was forced to look elsewhere for production.

“Vlad shouldn’t have played tonight,” coach Dusty May said. “He was ill. We appreciate him giving it a run. (We) got different contributions, I thought (sophomore forward) Sam Walters really stepped up in the second half. Obviously Tre is going to get a lot of the attention for this game, but I thought (junior forward) Will Tschetter made a couple hustle plays late in the game, two offensive rebounds in one possession, where I feel like we probably had about seven shots and we finally got one to drop.”