Courtesy of JTA. Photo credit: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Danny Wolf during the men’s Big Ten tournament, March 16, 2025, in Indianapolis
(JTA) — As the first round of March Madness begins in earnest on Thursday, one of the most attention-catching players has been the University of Michigan’s 7-foot star Danny Wolf.
He’s an elite player who, barring a twist, is expected by many to be a first-round pick in this June’s NBA Draft.
Judaism has always been a big part of Wolf’s life. He attended Jewish day school until fifth grade, keeps kosher and had his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
“The most beautiful thing about Judaism is the way it connects me with my family,” Wolf told Albom. “It transcends other things and brings us together.”
In 2023, he obtained Israeli citizenship to represent Israel at the FIBA U20 European Championship in Greece, leading the team to a silver medal. Wolf led the tournament with 12 rebounds per game, and put up a second-best 17.7 points per game.
Not every Jewish experience has been positive. Prior to transferring to Michigan’s top-tier program this year, Wolf played basketball for Yale University, and experienced antisemitism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
“It was against Dartmouth,” he recalled to the Detroit Free Press. “There were (more than 80) fans who came to the game disguised. And then minutes into the game they broke out chanting and holding Palestinian flags. And it was a small gym, so everyone’s focus turned to that.”
The experience did not appear to affect his performance in the game, or that season: He notched a double-double in Yale’s win that night, won 2023-2024 Ivy League Tournament MVP honors and was named to the ‘23-24 All-Ivy First Team.
At Michigan, Wolf has blossomed into a superstar and is coming off of his latest stellar season: he’s averaging 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in 34 starts for Michigan, and earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors this season.
