The first round of the NBA Draft is complete, and former Michigan forward Danny Wolf is heading to Brooklyn. The Nets took Wolf at No. 27 overall, which is more than a few spots back from where he was projected to be drafted (15-20).
Considering the Nets took four other players before Wolf, he could easily end up as the steal of the draft.
Danny Wolf has something to prove at the next level
Wolf was one of 24 players invited to sit in the green room at the draft. He said he didn’t expect to wait so long to hear his name called.
“It’s really hard to put into words. It’s such a unique, special opportunity, experience,” Wolf said in his post-draft press conference. “In terms of being in the green room, I didn’t exactly know how long I would have been sitting there for. If you asked me before, I wouldn’t have said this long. But it’s what happened, and it’s out of my control. I ended up in an unbelievable place, and it’s an unbelievable opportunity. Just going to use that as a chip on my shoulder, as a motivating factor.
“I don’t think where you’re drafted defines you. It’s just the start of getting into the league. It’s kind of been my basketball journey thus far, is just kind of having to go step by step. Was underrecruited out of high school, unranked, so to speak. Yale took a chance on me; didn’t play much. Was there for two years. Went to Michigan and I still don’t think people believed in me. Now I’m here and just have so much to prove and super excited to get to work. But just going to use that as a chip on my shoulder.”
Over the past decade or so, the NBA has seen an influx of international big-men, such as Joel Embiid (Cameroon) and Victor Wembanyama (France). There are numerous others around the league, and as a native of Israel, Wolf said he wants to be a melting pot of their skills.
“Yeah, I think you look at all the European bigs who I try to take bits and pieces from their games,” Wolf said. “Look at (Nikola) Jokic, (Alperen) Sengun, (Domantas) Sabonis, Lauri Markkanen, Franz Wagner, a Michigan guy. All these guys who are just so skilled, savvy. Try to take bits and pieces off all their games and what they do and try to just emulate some of those things.”
The Nets are in a unique position in that they will have five rookies on their roster for the upcoming season. Prior to Wolf, Brooklyn selected Egor Demin (G, BYU) 8th overall, Nolan Traoré (G, France) 19th overall, Drake Powell (G, UNC) 22nd overall and Ben Saraf (G, Israel) 26th overall.
In terms of being in a draft class with four other players, Wolf said he will keep his focus on what he can control.
“I mean, it’s a blessing. You have four other guys you get to share a locker room with that are your class, and you get to learn with and develop with and grow with,” Wolf said. “Within that, it’s up to you to kind of just be yourself. Do what you do and let the main thing be the main thing. I know that’s been said.
“But I know how I play. I know my strengths. I know my weaknesses. I know what I’m going to work at, and it’s up to me to do that. That’s why they selected me. That’s why they put their belief and trust in me and invested in me. It’s up to me to do with that as I want, and I want great things.”
The second round of the NBA Draft is tonight (Thursday) at 8 p.m. ET. Former Michigan center Vladislav Goldin will likely be selected in the second half of the round.
Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms
BASKETBALL2 days ago
BASKETBALL5 days ago
FB RECRUITING3 days ago