Danny Wolf

Offense

Danny Wolf is a unique and skilled offensive big who blends touch, passing, and perimeter shooting with a strong frame and high offensive awareness. He is a “big dude” and even made Derik Queen look undersized while standing next to him in their head-to-head matchups. Wolf is a below-the-rim player with limited jumping ability or hangtime and only an average wingspan.  However, he compensates with footwork, patience, and touch around the basket. He finishes well with either hand and consistently uses head fakes and pivots to get defenders off balance.

Despite his size and limited athleticism, Wolf is impressively nimble (it’s always fun to watch someone his size execute a Eurostep). He has good handles for a center and varies speed from very slow to “still slow but faster.” But does so effectively and uses the threat of his shot to get defenders off balance. He also has a spin move and step back he loves. Right now his spin move is more effective, as at least at the college level, defenders often would lean on him to try to stop his momentum. Meanwhile, his step back is more theoretical. He uses it to create space, he can’t finish the shot off it consistently.

Wolf is a legitimate floor-spacer with a high, compact release. His shooting mechanics are clean for a big, and he’s a reliable spot-up threat when in rhythm. He’s also shown flashes of off-the-dribble shooting, especially from deep, which could further elevate his offensive versatility at the next level. Surprisingly, Wolf wasn’t used frequently as a screener, but more often operating as a facilitator or ball-handler in the P&R.  This was a unique weapon for Michigan as they had two near NBA quality big men and could use Golden to set screens for Wolf that most NCAA teams were not equipped to defend.

Off the ball, Wolf makes intelligent reads, relocates well to the elbows or top of the key, and sprints the floor with effort. He’s constantly involved, whether as a floor-spacer, cutter, or crashing the glass for offensive rebounds. Against more athletic teams like Michigan State, however, his limitations showed; he struggled to finish inside against length and had trouble creating separation or elevating in traffic.  That said, even in those situations, it was really impressive that he just found ways to contribute.  He could drive and post inside, but against longer teams he could step out and shoot or flash to middle and hit mid range shots or passes.

Rebounding is a major strength. Wolf uses size, strength, and anticipation to consistently haul in boards. He boxes out well and has a nose for where the ball is going. He’s a grab-and-go threat and he can rebound and push the ball in transition, often initiating offense himself with quick passes pushing the ball upcourt.

Wolf’s passing is one of his standout skills.  He has great vision and is able to deliver passes from up top, the post, or off the live dribble.  Hits everything from kick outs to bounce passes to cutters, cross court skips, and more and he has the height to see over the defense and find good passing angles.  This should be a plus skill even in the NBA.

He had three main types of turnovers.  First is ball control. While Wolf is a very good dribbler for a big man, he still got stripped and ripped a decent number of times.  Second is he did have a number of turnovers trying to force action.  Michigan probably had him handling the ball too much and he had some travels and charges just trying to do too much.  He’ll benefit from a reduced roll.  Finally, I’m not too concerned about his passing given his volume of assists and the fact he’s a center; however, he did have a good amount of turnovers on forced passes into traffic.  He had some impressive assists through traffic, but he’s not at Yale anymore and needs to pick his spots versus more athletic defenses.  This will be even more true in the NBA.

Defense

Wolf’s defensive impact is more mixed. He’s a capable team defender and shows good awareness, as he rotates well, reading actions, and gets into passing lanes. But physically, he’s limited. He lacks lateral quickness, isn’t particularly explosive off the ground, and has only average length. These traits limit his effectiveness both on the perimeter and as a rim protector.

Mr. Hungry Like a Wolf is decently nimble and can charge direction well enough, but doesn’t have great lateral speed. He plays a lot of drop coverage when defending the pick and roll, but is doesn’t always work as while he’s decently tall, he’s not especially long, able to jump quickly, or explosive which limits his ability to cover ground. He was able to force a lot of misses on lighter contests in college, but this could become more problematic in the NBA with better shooters who can take advantage of that space.

However, there is a reason he plays drop coverage or like to give space, when Wolf steps up to guard closer, multiple guards and wings were able to burn right by him to score.  And not just guards, but Derik Queen, Ace Bailey, and some other faster big men basically ran by him with a quick move.

On switches or when defending in space, he can be hunted. He’ll try to contest, but often ends up chasing or lunging and on closeouts when running out, he often has to sell out, which makes him vulnerable to counters like pump fakes and escape dribbles. He can end up just up flying by the offensive player in an effort to try to contest and his closeouts become almost automatic layups for his opponent.

In post defense, Wolf holds his ground fairly well thanks to his strength and size. He can absorb contact and make players work, but again, his limited length and leaping ability reduce his ability to truly challenge shots. He’ll bother some looks just by being big, but won’t deter many shots.  Even when he kept players in front of him, a number managed to hit a high percentage on simple hook shots and turnarounds.

Wolf is willing to rotate and help, but his lack of explosiveness means he can’t get up quickly to alter shots or cover significant ground on late rotations. He’s more of a space-filler and lane clogger than a shot-blocker, though he will pick up some weak-side blocks with solid positioning and timing, particularly from behind.  Still, as a big body he can add some traffic and congestion to make scoring more challenging.