The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1520409
JUNE/JULY 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 37 2024 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY JOHN BORTON N ew Michigan coach Dusty May needs immediate help for his first crew of Wolverines. In 7-foot, 255-pound Danny Wolf, he'll get that — and perhaps a whole lot more. Wolf put in two seasons at Yale, posting a career-high 14.1 points per game average last winter along with 9.7 rebounds per contest. Only a junior, he's got two full seasons available to him in Ann Arbor. Whatever the future brings, he's excited about the opportunity at hand. Michigan fans can excitedly anticipate what the seven-footer might accom- plish at Crisler Center next winter, ESPN broadcaster Justin Gallanty said. "Danny is extremely unique," noted Gallanty, who has broadcast all of Wolf's home games the past two years. "He's a seven-footer who plays like a guard. He's that classic guy who you'll watch play and you'll think, OK, he was probably 6-2 until he was 18 years old. Seven-footers don't exist in the Ivy League, and seven- footers who play like guards really don't exist in the Ivy League. "His ability to score at three levels is going to translate to the Big Ten. For the longest time this season, he was 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three and around 70 percent from the line. And with his shooting from the floor, you know his free throw shooting is going to get better." Gallanty noted Wolf's numbers dipped some at the end of the season, when he broke his nose and found himself forced to wear an ill-fitting mask. He actually discarded the mask for the NCAA Tour- nament, and Gallanty — a Maryland grad who knows the Big Ten well — has no qualms about endorsing Wolf's transi- tion to his next venue. "His ability to score at three levels, be a guy that can pass, create from the high post, even take it to the basket from the top of the perimeter, it's definitely going to translate to Power Five college basket- ball," Gallanty assessed. "But when you think about Big Ten big men, you don't really think about athletic seven-footers who put the ball on the floor. It will be interesting to see how that specifically translates to the conference he's going to." Wolf's Ivy League career took off last season, going from 7.4 minutes per game as a freshman to 30.8 last winter. In ad- dition to posting healthy scoring and re- bounding numbers, Wolf averaged 2.4 as- sists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 34.5 percent on three- pointers, demonstrating some range. When Yale traveled to Lawrence, Kan., last Dec. 22, Wolf notched 11 points, 6 re- bounds and 4 blocks in a 75-60 loss for the Elis. He held his own against former U-M center Hunter Dickinson, who fin- ished with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks for the Jayhawks. In Yale's 78-76 upset win over No. 4 seed Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Wolf scored 13 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 3 assists before fouling out. He also poured in 19 points in Yale's 69-57 Ivy League championship game victory over Cornell. He knows it's a big step up from the Ivy League to the Big Ten. It's also one he's ready to take, in May's fast-paced style. "Danny can run," Gallanty stressed. "He's very athletic. He's not lumbering around or anything like that. He can play any style. "His freshman year, they were destroy- ing somebody, so Danny got in the game. They threw the ball into him in the high post, back to the basket, two dribbles and then fadeaway, one foot in the air, Dirk Nowitzki-type shot, rainbow and a per- fect swish. That was the first sign of the skill set that Danny showed this year, as an all-conference player." He's also the epitome of a student-ath- lete and more, Gallanty observed. "He's a pretty fierce competitor," the broadcaster noted. "He'll show his emo- tions during games. He just wants to win. He had a streak of like 12 double-doubles this year, and he didn't care about any of that. He just wants to win. "He is everything you could want in a student-athlete, everything you could want in a teammate, everything a Michi- gan fan could want in someone just play- ing for the team." ❏ Big Assist For The Frontcourt Athletic Seven-Footer Danny Wolf Can Score At All Three Levels Wolf By The Numbers • His 14.1 scoring average led Yale last season, with five Bulldog performers averaging double figures. • As a sophomore, he led his team in field goals made (176), free throws made (71), points (452), rebounds (310) and blocks (43). • His free throw shooting percentage jumped nearly 10 points from his freshman to sopho - more year at Yale, going from 62.5 percent to 71.7 percent last winter. • Was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection in 2023-24. • Hails from Glencoe, Ill., where he attended Northfield Mount Hermon High School. • Earned a silver medal with Team Israel at the 2023 FIBA Under-20 European Championships in Heraklion, Greece, averaging 17.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. • Named to the FIBA tournament's All Star Five for his efforts. • The rising junior at Michigan has gone on a partial service trip to Costa Rica, and volunteered at various soup kitchens in the Chicagoland area. — John Borton Wolf spent two seasons at Yale, posting a career- high 14.1 points per game average last winter along with 9.7 rebounds per contest. He held his own against former Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson at Kansas last December, finishing with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. PHOTO BY DAVID SCHAMIS / YALE ATHLETICS