Newsstand: John Fanta optimistic about Michigan’s chances — ‘I just know that I’ve got Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf’
Tweets Of The Day
Fox Sports college basketball expert John Fanta joined the ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast this week and discussed why he believes Michigan has a bright future down the stretch this season.
Host ‘Big Cat’ brought up Michigan’s turnover issues, but Fanta appears to be optimistic that that will become less of a problem in tournament games.
“Sometimes when you play together that long, your numbers don’t tell the full story when you get on the big stage,” Fanta said. “And that’s kinda where my argument is. At some point, Nimari Burnett, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle [Jr.] and Co. … I’m betting on them — I’m betting on [head coach] Dusty May, who’s made a Final Four run, and I’m betting on veteran players.
“They might be turnover prone, but I just know that I’ve got Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, and in the NCAA Tournament you, my opponent, have likely never seen any combination like that because of the uniqueness of it. So, I think they pose matchup problems.”
2026 Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin Michigan cornerback commit Brody Jennings was bumped up to a four-star and the No. 130 overall player in the nation in On3’s recent rankings release. He’s a three-star on two networks, meanwhile, and a low four-star on one other. On3 is higher on his capabilities than anyone else.
Michigan only won eight games last season, but it came out on top in some important ones, winning all of its rivalry and trophy games.
This week, Michigan officially announced the readdition of Biff Poggi to the staff. He’s now in his third stint as the program’s associate head coach.
Poggi said the following in a post on social media: “I am thrilled to officially be back in Ann Arbor!! This will always be my Football Home. So thankful for Sherrone Moore , Warde Manuel and Doug Gnodtke, all old friends. Sometimes you don’t know what a special place this is until you have been somewhere else. #GOBLUE. A special thanks to my son Henry , who was a great player here and introduced our family to OUR SCHOOL.”
Michigan has the second-highest winning percentage in the nation since 2021 (85.7 percent), behind only Georgia (91.4 percent).
Quote Of The Day
“They did a great job. Give Michigan credit for their plan. Their big was sitting in the middle When you’ve got a 7-1 guy in there, that’s huge. He protects the paint, and when the ball wasn’t going in, that floor just shrunk.”
— Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg on Michigan’s win over his Cornhuskers Monday night in Lincoln
Headlines Of The Day
• Chris Balas, The Wolverine: Tuesday Thoughts: Enjoy this Michigan basketball team for what it is
• Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: Michigan NFL Combine preview: 8 Wolverines can alter fortunes in Indianapolis
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: The Sevens Recap: Top performers, thoughts on Michigan commits, more
• Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: Michigan player grades: How each Wolverine impacted win over Nebraska
• Chad Simmons, On3: 5-star OT Jackson Cantwell locks in five official visits
The post Newsstand: John Fanta optimistic about Michigan’s chances — ‘I just know that I’ve got Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf’ appeared first on On3.
