Vladislav Goldin shares what makes Dusty May, Florida Atlantic coaches special

Vladislav Goldin has been a dominant force in this year’s NCAA Tournament for the Florida Atlantic Owls. The 7-foot-1 center from Russia has played a critical role in propelling the Owls to their first Final Four in school history. Heck, the only other time Florida Atlantic has ever been in the tourney was back in 2002, and they didn’t even make it past the first round that year. In order to make their historic run, the Owls not only needed great players like Goldin, but they’re lucky enough to have people like their head coach Dusty May and the rest of their coaching staff. In his press conference this week, Goldin shared what makes May and the FAU coaches so special: consistency.

Vladislav Goldin loves the consistency of the FAU staff

“I think the thing Coach May and all of our coaching staff is like they act the same, like when nobody sees it, when everybody sees it. And I feel like that’s very important to us as a group, be ourselves no matter what. We play March Madness. We play conference. We play non-conference. We work in August. We work anytime, anywhere,” Goldin said.

Goldin was a downright dominant force during his team’s Elite Eight victory over the Kansas State Wildcats, pouring in 14 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, swatting two blocks, and dishing out two assists. He’s also grabbed six or more rebounds in every single one of the Owls’ NCAA Tournament games this year. A dominant shot blocker, the Russian has also swatted 10 blocks total already on their magical run to the Final Four.

Florida Atlantic’s freshman guard, Nick Boyd echoed similar sentiments about the Owls’ coaching staff and their consistency.

“To piggyback off what Vlad said, I’ve never been around a person who has been the same every single day. Coach brings a positive attitude every single day to practice, the game doesn’t change about him. When you’re around somebody so consistent you’ll do whatever for them. And it’s going to be the same thing on Saturday,” Boyd said.

Boyd has done a little bit of everything for the Owls as a freshman, stuffing the stat sheet with 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He’s done an excellent job on the boards in Florida Atlantic’s historic run to the Final Four. His best game in the tournament thus far came against Tennessee in the Sweet 16, when he poured in 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Dusty May get plucked from another school after guiding the Owls on their miraculous Final Four run this tournament. It’s been unbelievable what FAU has accomplished and stories like theirs are a big reason why so many people fall in love with the NCAA Tournament every year: anything can happen. No matter what happens in the next few games, the Owls gave college basketball fans an NCAA Tournament run they’ll never forget.