Tag: Danny Wolf

What Michigan head coach Dusty May said after win over Wisconsin

What Michigan head coach Dusty May said after narrow win over Wisconsin

Michigan head coach Dusty May addressed the media following the Wolverines’ 67-64 win over Wisconsin on Tuesday.

May, who took over the Wolverines’ head coaching responsibility this spring after Juwan Howard was fired, secured his first career Big Ten win as Michigan’s head coach vs. the Badgers. He previously coached at Florida Atlantic — and took the Owls to the Final Four in 2022-23 in his fifth season at the helm

To steal the victory over Wisconsin, May turned to his two-headed attack of big men Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin. Wolf, who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and a team-best five assists, primarily orchestrated the Wolverines’ offense in the fourth quarter.

“He really is a guard in a 7-footer’s body,” May said. “The way he dribbles, the way he shoots it, the way he can create space. As the games have boiled down, we’re trying to figure out what’s our best plan of attack in the half court. That, in a small sample size, had been a really efficient attack for us. So we started trying to get everyone more aware of it… Danny wasn’t trying to hit home runs, he was just making the right play… he created the advantage.”

Goldin also played a monumental role. The 7-footer scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, including the final six points for Michigan.

“I think he picks his spots really well,” May said of Goldin. “Obviously he’s so big and strong around the rim. Offensively, when you have the hands that he has and you’re such a big target, we’ve got to find ways to continue to get him the ball. He played at a very efficient rate, and I think he had a few that didn’t drop that we expect to go in moving forward.”

In preparation for the Badgers, May focused on Wisconsin wings John Blackwell and John Tonje. The two account for more than 37 points per appearance for UW and generate countless opportunities at the free throw line.

By keeping the two from exploding offensively, the Badgers turned to others to create from deep. Greg Gard’s seven other rotational pieces went a combined 3-21 from deep in the loss.

“Blackwell and Tonje, they shoot the three off the bounce, off the catch, they get downhill and when you reach, they make you pay,” May said. “I thought they both found different ways to impact the game. We took a calculated risk to plug a bit more off the big guys, and they didn’t knock them down tonight. Also, because we were going at them a little bit defensively, maybe they didn’t have quite the legs. I’m not sure. Our game plan was to keep those two off the free throw line and try to limit their three-point shots.”

Michigan now moves to 7-1 on the season and will likely wind up in the next installation of the AP Poll. Wisconsin, meanwhile, falls to 8-1. It is back in action on Saturday against No. 5 Marquette.

Dusty May explains planned C rotation with Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf

Was wondering about this. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — He’s only been on the job with Michigan basketball for over a month, but Dusty May was a bit surprised at how well he was able to secure most of his big targets. Among them are the two centers who came to Ann Arbor in former FAU center Vlad Goldin and Yale’s Danny Wolf.

Both Goldin and Wolf were ranked relatively high in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings, with Wolf coming in as the sixth-ranked center and Goldin being the eighth. But generally, basketball teams don’t run a lot of formations with two centers, and not May especially, so there’s going to be some kind of rotation.

But with two starting-caliber centers on board, how will that work? May shared on Tuesday that during the recruitment of both, he shared the plan with them and that Goldin will likely be the main starter while Wolf will come in for pivotal rotational minutes. But there will also be times we do likely see both on the court at the same time.

“Through the recruiting process, we pride ourselves on being very transparent and open and honest. And what we tell you today is what we imagined is going to happen,” May said. “Not that it’s definitely going to happen because the scoreboard and injuries and things like that can change and derail anything.

“But yeah, Vlad I think last year played 25 minutes a game. In a perfect world, we get him a few more minutes, but we play up-tempo with a lot of possessions. So it’s difficult for our players to play 32 to 35 minutes a game if we’re playing the style that we like to play. And so Vlad will probably have around that mid-20s if he’s playing at his best and hopefully, we’re able to take care of some games before the last five minutes so you can get those guys some rest or whatever.

“But yeah, that left us probably playing Danny 14 minutes a game at the five when Vlad’s not in is how we probably envision it. And we’ll play stylistically a different brand of basketball with Danny being more of a five out, a facilitator. Vlad’s still more of a traditional center, but also he’s expanded his game. So we definitely envision those guys playing together significant minutes and also complementing each other.”

Of course, May already has the familiarity with Goldin as he coached him at Florida Atlantic but what was it about Wolf that caught his eye? And what does he bring to the table?

May is ecstatic about Wolf’s ball-handling, his shooting prowess — especially from outside — as well as his footwork. The Michigan basketball head coach feels that once Wolf goes through strength and conditioning this summer, it will help him acclimate that much more to the role that they hope to have him in come the late fall.

“Danny, he’s a very, very good 3-point shooter for a 7-footer,” May said. “He dribbles the ball well, he handles the ball like a guard. He passes it. They played through him offensively. So that’s how we used our backup center last year, Rosado. And so we’re very well-versed in that style of play. And he fits us offensively.

“And so the question was, does it fit defensively with another 7-footer or 7-foot-1 guy, and after watching Danny we felt like he moves his feet well, he’s got good mobility for a 7-footer and he embraces contact. So we think with a summer of really strong, consistent weight work, and speed work with our new strength coach, then he’ll be ready to go. And the Big Ten is a bigger league than we’re accustomed to playing in, too. It’s not as if these guys are out in the Big Ten playing small ball or whatever 20 nights of the season.”

Michigan basketball gets commitment from prized transfer center

Literally huge! #GoBlue

Michigan basketball is in transition, moving from the Juwan Howard era to the leadership of Dusty May. It’s taken a while, but May finally is getting some momentum on the recruiting trail as well as via the transfer portal.

After getting commitments from four-star point guard Justin Pippen (Scottie Pippen’s son) and North Texas transfer guard Rubin Jones on Friday, May is getting things going, with another big transfer commitment on Saturday.

During the Michigan football spring game, the maize and blue got a commitment from Danny Wolf, the highly-sought-after Yale transfer center who comes in at 7-feet tall. Wolf hails from Glencoe (Ill.) and was a part of the 2022 recruiting class.

247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein has the scouting report on Wolf coming out of the Ivy League:

Danny Wolf is a highly skilled big man who helped lead Yale back to the NCAA Tournament in his sophomore year while averaging 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.0 steals, all while shooting 47% from the floor, 35% from three, and 72% from the free-throw line.

While his height may be slightly embellished, he still possesses a rare combination of size and skill that has led to significant high-major interest out of the portal. Wolf may even have more shooting potential than we’ve seen so far, with naturally soft touch and clean mechanics that should yield a higher percentage when he’s not the focal point of opposing defenses and utilized as a floor-spacer more frequently. He’s a pick-and-pop threat and also very adept at putting the ball on the floor, giving him potential to operate out of various types of offensive actions.

Athleticism and durability are key variables moving forward. He was fully healthy this year after playing 21 games as a freshman and battling various injuries in his last year of high school. He still has another level he can get to with his conditioning, that could help him on the defensive end of the floor, as well as with maintain his rebounding prowess against higher levels of competition.

Unranked coming out of high school, Wolf was a four-star in the transfer portal, ranked No. 19 overall, regardless of position, by 247Sports. It’s unclear whether or not this will affect the recruitment of former FAU center Vlad Goldin who is the No. 33 player in the transfer portal.

UNC target Danny Wolf commits to Michigan

The UNC basketball team is no longer in the running for former Yale big man Danny Wolf.

The transfer portal is alive and well in college basketball.

We’ve seen plenty of big-name transfers commit already, with the latest being former Wisconsin guard AJ Storr to Kansas. There’s been several teams who’ve brought players in for visits, only for those players to choose other destinations.

One highly-touted player the North Carolina Tar Heels looked at was Danny Wolf, the 7-foot big man from Yale, who averaged 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game last year. UNC is in need of an experienced center for the coming season, as it only returns Jalen Washington and brings in 4-star James Brown.

Unfortunately, Wolf is now off the market, as he committed to Michigan on Saturday.

Michigan was arguably the worst Power 5 basketball school last year, compiling an 8-24 (3-17) record, which led to the recent firing of head coach Juwan Howard. After a shocking win against ranked Wisconsin on Feb. 7, the Wolverines lost nine straight to end the year.

Getting Wolf is a massive win for new head coach Dusty May, who is trying to restore Michigan to Big 10 prominence.

Missing out of Wolf isn’t the end of the world for North Carolina, which is still in the mix for Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo and Rutgers big man Cliff Omuruyi. I’d be fine with either guy, but nabbing Aidoo would allow him to play in his home state, as Aidoo grew up in Durham.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.