DENVER — Danny Wolf’s trajectory has always been upward. Throughout his career, Wolf has put himself in the position to ascend through the ranks of high school and collegiate basketball to reach the pinnacle of it all.
Wolf grew up a Michigan fan, and, even from a young age, he knew he wanted to play on the biggest stage. Playing for the Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament has been a lifelong goal.
“Of course, yeah,” Wolf answered plainly when asked if playing in March Madness at Michigan was something he planned on doing. “It’s a chance any kid dreams of, no matter where you are. It’s awesome to be able to do it while sporting a Michigan jersey.”
With clear goals and aspirations from a young age, Wolf put in the work at every level to seek the best possible opportunities to achieve those desires. Taking extra steps along the way, he played against the best competition possible, moving to the best possible school, with the best possible teammates to ultimately reach that goal on Thursday.
His journey started at his local high school of Lake Forest Academy in Illinois then took a turn to Northfield Mount Hermon, a college prep school in Massachusetts. Throughout his time at each, Wolf spent his high school career seeking opportunities to improve his game. His ride then landed at Yale for two seasons, where he played and won in the NCAA Tournament, before finally achieving the goal he’s dreamt of since he was a kid — to play for and go to the Big Dance with Michigan.
“Danny is somebody who always wanted this opportunity to play at the highest level,” Danny’s high school coach at Lake Forest Academy Kyle Koncz told The Michigan Daily. “… I just knew in the back of my head that Danny always had these visions of playing in front of 25,000 people, of playing on CBS, playing on ESPN. That’s what we use to motivate him every day.”
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Wolf’s path has always, including following what he sees as the next best move. Taking in lessons and experiences at every turn, Wolf has landed exactly where he envisioned himself — and it’s all a product of his fearless approach to understanding how he can be the best version of himself.
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Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, all Danny thought about was Michigan — where his mom and sister went to college — and basketball. Both Danny and his older brother, Jake, played for Lake Forest Academy. His freshman and sophomore seasons there, Danny spent his time absorbing as much information as he could, while he continued to understand how his unique skill set fit in with everyone else.
Even early in high school, Danny separated himself with his distinct physique and playstyle. Koncz spent much of his time letting Danny, a 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-6 guard his freshman and sophomore years, be himself and figure everything out.
“Danny did things that, as a coach, sometimes drive you crazy,” Koncz said. “Trying new things, that’s kind of where Danny was at as a freshman and sophomore. He would throw these passes and he would see these things. Sometimes, because of where he was physically, he would put his body in positions that now he’s able to do well in. But back then, he wasn’t quite coordinated enough to make it happen.”
Despite aggravating Koncz at times due to his lack of coordination and sporadicness, Danny was learning and growing — and that’s all either of them cared about. As an underclassman playing beneath his two-year-older brother Jake, Danny took time to adjust to his body and skillset. Under Koncz’s guidance and freedom, Danny was willing to test out the different things his height and speed permitted.
“Even though Danny’s a 7-footer, he’s a playmaker at heart,” Koncz said. “That’s what he enjoys. He enjoys making good assists. He enjoys getting shots for his teammates. And I think if you were to take that away from him, you’re taking away the joy that he has for playing basketball.”
There were times during Danny’s sophomore year where he had upwards of double-digit assists in the first half alone. Through the hard-working demeanour and spindliness he displayed as a playmaker during practices and games, Danny was adapting to the changes of his own height and gaining the respect of his teammate.
As Danny continued on his upward trajectory, both in a basketball and physical sense, he also started to outgrow the limits of Lake Forest Academy. A public program in the Chicago suburbs, Lake Forest Academy played tough competition year in and year out. But with the restrictions of COVID-19, Danny needed another option to continue to ascend to his primary objective.
For his senior year of high school, Danny transferred to Northfield Mount Hermon in Gill, Mass. Spending his final year at a college prep school gave Danny a heightened level of competition to fully prepare for the transition of collegiate basketball. With Northfield Mount Hermon, Danny led the program to the NEPSAC AAA Championship and the national prep championship, earning a McDonald’s All-American nomination.
Danny’s risk paid off. He had successfully chased and accomplished the opportunity to play against the best competition high school had to offer. Despite the success, though, there wasn’t much interest from high-major programs for Danny out of high school. So, he decided to stay close to his values of education and played for a different type of historic program in Yale.
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At Yale, Danny truly made a name for himself. During his freshman season with the Bulldogs, he averaged just 7.3 minutes off the bench, but gained valuable experience behind coach James Jones.
When Danny continued to put in the work every day and gain the respect of yet another coaching staff and roster, he found himself as an starter his sophomore year. He averaged 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds with 2.4 assists per game, compiling 14 double-doubles over the course of the season. At the top of the list, though, Danny was one step closer to reaching his lifelong objective at Michigan, as Yale reached the Big Dance after winning the Ivy League Tournament Championship.
The Bulldogs went on to upset Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before their run ended with a loss to San Diego State in the second round. The experience as an underdog proved that Danny could lead a team to the biggest stage in college basketball and finally drew the attention many of his old coaches predicted for him.
“I have nothing but amazing things to say about Yale, my teammates, my coaches, had an unbelievable two years there,” Wolf said Wednesday in Denver, where Michigan and Yale both played their first round games. “… When I was walking in here today, I ran into a few of the coaches and support staff. I got to see some of my teammates who I keep in contact with, and it put a big smile on my face to see all those guys, because we had a really special year last year and the year before.”
That connection with his past teammates speaks volumes to the player and person Danny is. After two years with Yale, though, Danny proved to the nation what caliber of play he’s capable of — so he entered the transfer portal.
In the age of the constant movement between teams, it’s easy for players to lose connection to their past programs in search of a better opportunity. Although Danny did enter the portal, his character and play kept him connected with Yale.
Working through the ranks of high school basketball before taking an underdog program with winning ways to the NCAA Tournament, Danny put himself in the best possible position.
“In today’s day and age with the opportunities that players have to transfer up, when he started playing really well as a sophomore (at Yale), in my head I was like, ‘Hey, he’s probably going to get some calls to transfer up. And if Michigan calls, I’m sure it’s going to be on the top of his list,’ ” Koncz said.
When he entered the transfer portal, Michigan was the inevitable landing spot.
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Under Michigan coach Dusty May in his first year, the Wolverines hit the portal hard. They wanted to compile a roster that would compete at the highest level even in year one, a year that many wouldn’ve considered a transition year.
For Danny it was finally time for his lifelong dream to come to fruition.
“Having the Michigan ties obviously gave us a leg up early,” Michigan assistant coach Kyle Church told The Daily. “Then we just had to make sure he saw our vision as much as we believed in him, and he believed in himself. So very, very fortunate, everything played out.”
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Danny had made it. He was playing for the program he dreamed of playing for. But that was just the first step in his ultimate goal. As an underrated recruit out of high school entering a program coming off one of its worst seasons in history, both Danny and Michigan entered the 2024-25 season with a chip on their shoulders.
“At Michigan, obviously last year didn’t go as anyone would have liked, from a fan perspective, from a team perspective,” Wolf said. “When we came in this year, we knew what we had to do to kind of flip that page and bring Michigan back to success.”
The Wolverines started to sell out Crisler Center. They finished nonconference play 9-3 and won their first five Big Ten games. Michigan held sole possession of the top spot in the Big Ten for a period of time in the middle of the season. And although the regular season championship slipped from between their fingers, Danny and Michigan responded in the Big Ten Tournament.
On a season averaging 13 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, Danny was nominated to multiple all-conference teams and has 15 double-doubles. All his work was paying off. Danny was adjusting to the program and growing confidence in his leadership and playstyle in a new program.
“He can make some special plays,” Church said “So if, for every three passes he throws, it leads to two dunks and one turnover, that’s not a bad ratio, and that really helps our team. … As a leader, he’s made big strides. He’s had a couple of tough moments, and I think he self reflected and saw what he could do better and applied it.”
All the years of ascending through programs and pushing the capabilities of his skillset has ultimately led Danny and the Wolverines to a Big Ten Tournament Championship, and now, an NCAA Tournament appearance.
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Danny has officially made it. Arriving in Denver secured Danny’s legacy forever as a player for Michigan in March Madness. A lifetime in the making has culminated to his lifelong goal. And although Danny cut down the nets in Indianapolis, he’s looking for more — because Danny’s trajectory is always upward.
