The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the parents, fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The Sweet 16/Elite 8 are taking place in 4 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from Atlanta at the Michigan players press conference.
Since Michigan C Vladislav Goldin played for Russia in the 2019 U18 European Championship with Viktor Lakhin and against several great players including Franz Wagner/Santi Aldama/Augustas Marciulionis/Moussa Diabate, I asked him if that experience helped prepare him for an event like the NCAA tourney and how the 2 events compared to each other. He said that while they are similar win-or-go-home environments, they faced a lot of great teams/players this season, so it is nothing that they have not seen before:
Since Tre Donaldson was a football recruit at Auburn and his uncle Duke played football for the Tigers, I wondered how close he came to following in his uncle’s footsteps and who his uncle would be cheering for on Friday. After admitting that he was amazed that anybody knew those fun facts about his family he gave me the scoop. He said that he was extremely close to playing football and had a real chance to do so, but that eventually he wanted to focus on basketball. He confirmed that his uncle will be at the arena tomorrow night…and that he will be cheering for Michigan!:
Check back for a lot more access all week long!
