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Michigan wins Oscar Goodman, the best international basketball player

Michigan wins Oscar Goodman, the best international basketball player

  • Jonathan Givony, ESPNOctober 23, 2024, 8:31 a.m. ET

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      NBA draft analyst and author
      Joined ESPN.com in July 2017
      Founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analysis service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams

Top basketball prospect Oscar Goodman has committed to the Michigan Wolverines, he told ESPN on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-2, 17-year-old power forward from Opunake, New Zealand, continued his development at the NBA Global Academy in Australia, where he earned a reputation as one of the most sought-after international collegiate players in the class of 2025.

Goodman burst into the NBA spotlight at last summer’s FIBA ​​U17 World Cup in Istanbul, where he led New Zealand to a historic fourth-place finish, losing to the United States in the semifinals. He was named to the All-Tournament First-Team after averaging 17.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Goodman was also named MVP of the 2023 FIBA ​​U16 Asian Championship.

Goodman’s combination of skill, feel, physicality and indoor and outdoor versatility should allow him to play multiple roles for Michigan head coach Dusty May, who was hired from Florida Atlantic last March. Goodman marks Michigan’s first major foray back into the international recruiting market since signing German winger Franz Wagner to Juwan Howard in 2019.

“I chose Michigan because Coach May saw that I fit their style of play,” Goodman told ESPN. “I really liked the atmosphere in which we do everything for each other. Good team chemistry was important to me and I noticed that all the boys enjoyed being together.”

Goodman says he plans to represent New Zealand again at the FIBA ​​U19 World Cup in Switzerland this summer.

This is Michigan’s second commitment in the 2025 class after Winters Grady, one of the top shooters in his class, announced last week that he has committed to the Wolverines.

The NBA Academy program has become a hotspot for draft prospects in recent years, including Josh Giddey (No. 6 pick, 2021 NBA Draft), Bennedict Mathurin (No. 6 pick, 2022) and Dyson Daniels (No. 8). Pick, 2022) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper coming through the program, as well as projected top-10 pick Khaman Maluach, currently enrolled at Duke.