After brilliant performances elsewhere, the transfer explains why Michigan was the right choice this time

This time, Michigan made Danny Wolf an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Two years ago, Wolf considered joining the Michigan men’s basketball team out of high school. He visited campus and spent time with then-head coach Juwan Howard and his staff, who told Wolf he could get a scholarship if he continued to improve his game. “They recruited me pretty heavily,” Wolf said.

Wolf had grown up in Glencoe, Illinois, as a huge Michigan fan. His mother, sister and several members of his mother’s family attended the school. He had gone to football games at the Big House and regularly wore Wolverines gear.

“It was always my wish to come here,” he said.

He was close to committing but chose Yale instead. After two impressive seasons there, Wolf, a 7-foot-4 center with perimeter skills, is now a Wolverine. He spoke about that decision on an episode of the “Defend the Block” podcast released last week.

Wolf heard rumors all last season that he might enter the transfer portal. That was never his plan, he said. But after Yale lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament, capping a season in which Wolf was named to the All-Ivy League first team, he discussed his options with his family and other advisers. Wolf’s goal is to play in the NBA.

“I realized that if I wanted to be successful at the next level, I had to take the plunge and go to a Power 5 conference and compete at the highest level night after night against the big guys,” he said.

Wolf entered the portal with a “no contact” label on his profile, meaning coaches couldn’t talk to him unless he made contact first. Wolf already had a small list of schools in mind, mostly those with a good combination of basketball and academics.

When Wolf met with new Michigan head coach Dusty May, Wolf’s first question was whether 7-foot-5 center Vlad Goldin would follow May to Michigan from Florida Atlantic. May believed Goldin would. Rather than being a hindrance, this proved to be an incentive for Wolf. He could play the power forward position (the “4”) with Goldin in an oversized frontcourt while also playing center when Goldin is on the bench. Wolf believes this will increase his NBA value and benefit Michigan, given his ability as a shooter, passer and ballhandler.

He visited Ann Arbor with Goldin and hit it off with him and the new Michigan coaching staff. Wolf said many outsiders believed he would choose Michigan because of its fan base. Wolf said that was not a factor. Michigan checked all the boxes in terms of high-level basketball and academic performance, and the coaching staff and on-court opportunities gave Michigan the edge.

Wolf was a big catch for Michigan. As a sophomore last season, he led Yale with 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, helped the Bulldogs win the Ivy League tournament and, as a No. 13 seed, beat No. 4 Auburn in the NCAA tournament.

He sank 35 percent of his 83 three-pointers and averaged 2.4 assists per game as Yale often ran its offense through him.

“I have a different skill set for my size,” Wolf said. “I pride myself on being able to do things that other guys my position and size can’t. That was a big reason I came here – the coaches saw that in me and that’s what they want from me.”

Wolf said that since arriving on campus, he has placed a strong emphasis on strength and conditioning, areas he is improving in so he can perform to his full potential.

Wolf said he and Goldin have played well together so far in practices and pickup games. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Wolf said. “The coaches have us do a lot of different actions and try to see us do different things together — I come from ball screens and different post-up actions and screening actions and so on.”

Wolf and Goldin are among six new additions to the program, along with three new freshmen and three returning scholarship players. That’s a lot of new faces, but Wolf says you wouldn’t know the roster has been overhauled.

“Everyone immediately hit it off. Everyone agrees that we have a common goal of winning. … We have a really special group of guys who can do great things this year.”