A Jewish college basketball star is turning NBA heads at Michigan

Danny Wolf, a sweet-shooting 7-footer, has rocketed up NBA draft boards

The Michigan Wolverines offense this season has run through Danny Wolf, right. Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

By Louis Keene February 24, 2025

Here’s a sentence I’ve never written before: A seven-footer who had his bar mitzvah in Israel is dominating college basketball.

The truth is I could have written as much last year, when Danny Wolf was bulldozing the Ivy League in his sophomore season at Yale. But now Wolf, a sweet-shooting forward from the Chicago suburbs, is doing the same for a nationally ranked University of Michigan team that plays in one of the toughest conferences in the country. As he prepares to lead the Wolverines on an NCAA Tournament run, NBA scouts are taking notice.

Wolf, 20, hails from Glencoe, Illinois, but gained Israeli citizenship last summer so that he could play for Israel in the Under-20 European Championships. He was one of the stars of the tournament, leading Israel in points and the tournament in rebounds as the blue-and-white won silver.

“I honestly don’t think I can put words into the feelings,” Wolf said at the time about representing Israel. “Growing up in a Jewish household having Jewish beliefs and faith, I’ve never really been able to experience something like I have this past month. Just being able to represent Israel in a way that I haven’t been able to do in the past is something that I shouldn’t take for granted.”

“I always held on my shoulders that I knew I had a very strong belief in Judaism and I used that to my advantage in life,” he added. “Judaism was a huge part of how I was raised and how I carry myself today.”

Since transferring to Michigan last summer, Wolf has displayed an offensive repertoire shared by few players his height as the Wolverines have raced to a 21-6 record that puts them second in the Big Ten. He can knock down three-pointers, score in the post and find cutters for easy buckets. And while his season averages of 12.8 points, a conference-leading 9.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists show Wolf’s broad impact, they don’t show you the highlights, which might just tell you more.

Take, for example, a pair of sensational plays from last week’s tilt with conference rival Ohio State. In the first half, a Michigan player corralled a loose ball around half-court and passed it to a streaking Wolf, who spun around as he caught the pass to evade one defender. Then Wolf took two dribbles forward and coolly sent a behind-the-back bounce pass to a teammate for a layup.

Later, with Michigan trailing in the second half, Wolf leaped to contest a shot on defense, then crashed to the floor chasing the rebound. As he fell to the hardwood, he stretched to deflect the ball to a teammate, who set up a three-point shot. The shot clanged off the rim, but somehow Wolf, who had picked himself up and sprinted ahead, was there to tip in the rebound.

Though he will have another season of eligibility after this year, most basketball prognosticators anticipate Wolf entering the NBA Draft this summer. CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated both project Wolf as a late-first round pick, and ESPN called him one of 10 under-the-radar players in the draft. One outlet has Wolf as the 12th overall selection.

“There isn’t another player in college basketball like him with his ability to push off the defensive glass, creativity operating out of pick-and-roll handling, passing and finishing skillfully with both hands, and finding teammates off a live dribble,” wrote ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Wolf might not be the only Jewish player picked — or the only Israeli. Ben Saraf, a 6-foot-5 guard from Gan Yoshiya currently playing in Germany, is also appearing in mock drafts. If picked, the two would join the Portland Trail Blazers’ Deni Avdija in the league’s Jewish ranks. The Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis is converting to Judaism, but his current status is unknown.

Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. His work has also been published in The New York Times, New York magazine and Vice. He is based in Los Angeles.

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