Goodwin Can Shoot The Rock
Dane Goodwin landed an offer from Ohio State before he began high school and he gave the Buckeyes his verbal pledge as a ninth-grader, before he even played his first high school game.
“That’s the only reason Dane didn’t have a gazillion offers because he committed so early and schools did the right thing and respected that commitment,” Goodwin’s All-Ohio EYBL coach Matt Sylvester says.
But when Ohio State fired head coach Thad Matta last month, it opened the door for schools like Notre Dame and Villanova and on Wednesday night, the 6-foot-5, 190-pounder announced his verbal commitment to the Irish.
Sylvester calls Goodwin a “big-time shooter.”
“Any time you have a kid who is 6-5 who can shoot it the way Dane shoots it, you have a chance to be a really special player,” Sylvester adds. “On top of that, he’s got some intangibles that make him a very, very good player and a guy who, in my opinion, will have a lot of success in the ACC. He’s a really good rebounder at 6-5, just a tenacious rebounder, really gets after it, throws his body around and just has a knack for coming up with the ball when it comes to rebounding. He really plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s just a tough, competitive, feisty kid.
“I think that’s going to really translate to the ACC. Those things, for him, are a unique combination. When you can shoot it, when you can rebound it and when you really compete and get after it, you’ve got a chance to be a pretty good player. I think Dane has a chance to be a really good player at the next level.”
Additionally, Goodwin’s father, Damon Goodwin, played college ball at Dayton and has been the head coach at Capital University for more than 20 years.
“It’s very valuable,” Sylvester says of Goodwin being a coach’s son. “He’s a high-IQ kid whether you’re talking on the court or off the court. He knows how to play the game, he understands the game of basketball. He’s a good passer, he’s a good ballhandler.
“He lets the game come to him. He knows when it’s his time to score, when it’s his time to get other guys the ball. He just really knows how to play the game, which really helps.”
It didn’t take long after Matta’s dismissal for Notre Dame and Goodwin to see each other as potential fits and he was on campus for a visit last month.
“I think Dane grew up a Notre Dame fan from afar,” Sylvester says. “Like a lot of kids do, he grew up looking at that program and that campus as a really special place. When Coach Matta was let go, he thought it was in his best interest to open it up and explore what was out there. When Notre Dame showed interest, I think it was really hard for Dane not to at least take the opportunity to explore that.
“When he got to campus and realized what a special place Notre Dame was, he mentioned specifically to me the connection he made with the players and coaching staff. He really felt like he fit in and got along with the players. He just really felt at home after that visit. I think that was kind of what really put it over the top.”
Goodwin also saw a fit on the court.
“Notre Dame runs a lot of motion-type stuff and I think that’s similar to what Dane does in high school,” his coach says. “He’s really good at reading screens. He’s a good passer. He’s just very good in a freelance, motion type of offense.
“Again, with Dane, I think it comes back to the fact that he shoots the ball so well. When you shoot the ball that well and you know how to read screens and you know how to pass and have those types of skills, you’ve got the opportunity to flourish in that type of system. I think that’s really what drew Dane to Notre Dame as well.”
Sylvester played his college ball at Ohio State, but was actually offered a scholarship during Mike Brey’s first season with the Irish and feels like Goodwin’s decision brings things full circle in a sense.