Danny Wolf talks growing up a Michigan fan, choosing the Wolverines, his role, more

Michigan Wolverines basketball will use two seven-footers on the floor at the same time for significant minutes, perhaps even starting both transfers Danny Wolf (7-foot-0, Yale) and Vladislav Goldin (7-foot-1, Florida Atlantic).

That was a selling point for Wolf, who played center at Yale, in the recruiting process. Michigan head coach Dusty May and his staff made it clear that Wolf would play both front court spots, and even set up his official visit so that he’d be on campus at the same time as Goldin. Both players were met with full transparency on May and Co.’s vision.

“Coach May was one of the first coaches to reach out to me, and laid out his vision for me and the program,” Wolf said on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast with host Brian Boesch. “The one thing that really stood out was the ability to play the ‘4’ and the ‘5.’ Because the first question I asked him is, ‘Is Vlad Goldin going to come with you?’ He was pretty certain he was. So that kind of created question marks at the same time. It also raised a higher level of interest in Michigan, because with my skill set and how it translates to the next level, playing the ‘4’ is something that I need to do.

“Once that became clear and I got all my questions out of the way and they said that they see me at the ‘4,’ the ‘5’ and just coming different actions and all that stuff, it seemed pretty seamless.

“And then I came on a visit, fell in love with the coaching staff. I said it when I sat down at breakfast on the first day, it seemed like those coaches had been together for years. It was just the way they bonded and connected, and they all have the same vision for each other and for the team.

“A week later, I decided that Michigan was the right spot for me and my family. My mom being a Michigan alum, it put a smile on her face. I think it was the right decision, and I could not be happier with it.”

It wasn’t just Wolf’s mother that attended Michigan — he has multiple other family members who did so. And the Glencoe, Ill., native himself almost came to U-M as a walk-on player under head coach Juwan Howard in 2022.

“A good deal of Michigan alums that come from my mom’s side of the family, so I grew up coming to The Big House and sported a lot of Michigan shirts and shorts. I grew up a big Michigan fan,” Wolf noted, adding that his favorite memory as a fan was Trey Burke hitting a 30-foot three-pointer to send a 2013 Sweet 16 game to overtime in an eventual Wolverine victory.

At the time, Michigan didn’t have a scholarship available for Wolf, but Howard and his staff communicated a plan that he could earn one down the road.

“The plan for me was to be a walk-on player but just depending on my development I could very easily turn into a scholarship player — and they saw me down the line being a big contributor to the program,” Wolf said.

A couple years later, he’s a scholarship player for Michigan, scheduled to be a big-time contributor, after taking a different path.

Danny Wolf brings unique skill set to Michigan

Wolf is a stretch big man, making 34.9 percent of his 83 three-point attempts for the Bulldogs last season, helping his team reach the NCAA Tournament round of 32 following a first-round upset victory over Auburn. He grew up playing as a guard and wing, which has helped him with his ball-handling and shooting even now as a forward.

“I was always pretty tall, but I was never the tallest guy or stood out to be tall, as I am now,” Wolf said. “Growing up, I was always a wing, and I just carried those skills over as I hit growth spurts and got taller throughout the years. One of my coaches when I was younger really emphasized me playing the guard position, even as a taller [player]. To this day, I thank him, and he’s still in my corner.”

7 feet shooting big man that averaged 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocks last season and is only on the come up?

Say no more Danny Wolf is about to go off pic.twitter.com/kWVsz6P2Da

— ZNBA (@ZNBAJournalist) July 8, 2024

Playing some power forward in addition to center was a massive selling point for Wolf. And as much as Wolf is happy he ended up at Michigan after thinking about that possibility as a child and recruit, it wasn’t the reason he chose the Wolverines.

“In all honesty, it was never me being a big-time Michigan fan that was like, ‘I’m going to Michigan.’ That was never the case,” Wolf pointed out. “I know a lot of people think that is the case, but 1) it started with the coaching staff and how well they connected and just, I think relationships are the most important thing in life.

“When I resonate with the coaches and I get along with them well, it makes things so much easier and more pleasant. And that along with being able to play the ‘4’ and the ‘5.’ lot of schools were recruiting me to do something similar, just watching me and how I play and how they think I fit and playing with shot-blocking bigs and how that’ll open my game up and it’ll help them.

“When I knew that Vlad was coming here, it even opened my eyes more, because it allowed me to showcase my game, and I really think it’ll help whatever team I was on as much as I could, just with my versatility. So being able to play the ‘4,’ that’s the main thing, and then being able to play some ‘5’ as well.”