Dusty May continued his portal invasion on Saturday, when Yale transfer Danny Wolf pledged to the Wolverines. 

Much like Rubin Jones, Yale is scant on legit competition, so I reviewed full game film against their very best opponents in Kansas, Auburn and San Diego State. 

SCOUTING (Offense)

The most projectable facet of Wolf's game is undoubtedly playmaking. He's a superb passer for a big and has the look of an offensive engine in a Delay-centric offense as the trigger-man. A 21.8 assist rate versus top-50 opponents (Torvik) is bonkers considering the talent he is surrounded with. 

With respect to Hunter Dickinson, Danny may very well be the most naturally talented passer/playmaking big (distinct from productive) that has come through Ann Arbor in quite some time. Hunter was phenomenal passing from the post and the top of the key, but he simply wasn't capable of dropping dimes from a live dribble like we see below:

That is legit guard-esque playmaking that isn't just good for the position, it's just downright excellence. 

The playmaking from the post/passing out of doubles is lethal as well. Wolf's processing time is very fast. He literally finds teammates at the precise moment the opposition commits to a legit double rather than simple stunts. That optimizes passing windows and totally manipulates the defense as we see below:  

Danny's ability to excel as a trigger man in structured offense pops-off too. Yale is running Zoom action below (guard entry pass to Wolf at the slot>then corner screen for other guard>DHO to guard receiving the screen). #3 for Yale isn't coming off the screen clean enough for Wolf's liking, so he waits to read the defense. Look at the placement + touch on that pass. In football terms, he's throwing the receiver open. 

[After THE JUMP: the full scouting report]

To wrap things up on the playmaking front, Danny does indeed have short-roll playmaking in his repertoire too.SDSU is blitzing, so Wolf is free on the roll. He actually fumbles the ball, catches it mid-air and delivers a pinpoint pass in a tight window for an easy bucket. 

In sum, Danny is about as good it gets for a playmaking big at the college level. He thrives as the advantage creator in terms of exploiting doubles, maximizing set actions and live-dribble passes. Wolf is also a guy that bends defenses as more of a play-finisher on the roll with a numbers advantage on the backend.  You can absolutely run offense through Danny Wolf the day he steps on campus. 

Admittedly, Danny is a difficult projection with respect to scoring. He has the look of pick-and-pop type that stretches the defense and exploits drop coverage. 

The Synergy profile supports the shooting, as Wolf put up 1.25pps on 65 catch + shoot jumpers this season, good for 89th percentile. But when you filter the numbers for legit competition, it isn't quite as rosy. Danny shot 7/25 from distance in games against top-100 teams and 4/14 against top-50 teams. That's 11/39 (28%) in the aggregate. Not a huge sample, but definitely worth noting.

Wolf flashes some self-creation chops as well. The first possession is Danny putting former Michigan standout Hunter Dickinson in the blender. He's quite comfortable as a face-up option that also attacks closeouts. The handle is good for a college kid that size, as he can change direction with a live dribble and likes to convert that into power with drop-steps and spins. 

While Wolf has some ability to carve out space, he isn't necessarily cashing out. The Synergy profile paints him as an average finisher upon cursory look. Putting up 1.16pps on 213 rim attempts places him 56th percentile nationally. Certainly not elite by any means, but nothing of major concern.

Again though, when you filter that number for legit competition, it falls off a cliff. Against top-100 teams, Danny is 22/65 on 2PA and only 7/25 on such attempts in games against top-50 opponents per Torvik. 29/90 in the aggregate is a bit concerning. He's only attempted 10 floaters (labeled runners per Synergy) all season regardless of competition, so this has the look of less-than-ideal finishing as opposed to shot selection. In the three full games I took in, Wolf went 7/17 (41.2%) at the rim. He's probably closer to 6'10 than the list height of 7-feet, and that becomes a bit more prominent when one has limited athletic ability. 

SCOUTING (Defense)

On the other end of the court, Danny's primary role is that of an anchor big. Simple translation = drop coverage exclusively. And he performs quite well in that area in terms of rim protection, as the 5.4 overall block rate and 4.8 block rate against top-50 opponents will attest to.

More than just the sheer numbers though, I'm a big fan of Wolf's technique as a shotblocker. He's mastered the art of verticality as it relates to arm placement and that allows him to avoid foul trouble as we see below. And while he's not going to block every shot that comes his way via this approach, he will alter at a much higher rate. Though alterations haven't reached a point of quantification, I'm of the opinion that altering is just as valuable, if not more valuable, than actual blocks. It generally results in a defensive rebound where the defense gains possession rather than going out-of-bounds that we routinely see with blocks. 

Danny isn't a switchable defender, as he lacks ideal agility to do so. So the remainder of his duties primarily come in the form of rebounding, and its also something he does quite well, particularly the defensive glass.

Wolf checked-in with an overall Dreb rate of 29.1 this season, which is really good. That rate was 26.6 against top-100 teams and 26 versus top-50 teams. He cleans up the defensive boards consistently and that's big plus in tandem with the rim protection.

PROJECTION

Danny Wolf is a really skilled player that is going to be extremely valuable for Dusty May. You simply cannot teach that level of spatial awareness, processing speed and playmaking prowess. He's going to step in day 1 and have positive impact as a guy that creates shots for teammates as either a trigger man or with his back-to-the-basket. The ability to thrive as a floorspacing big is a bit questionable given the context, but I think there's enough there to project him being at least respectable as a shooter on a few triples per game. 

That said, I think Wolf's optimal role for Michigan in year one is a backup big for Vlad Goldin (admissions, I'm begging you). Playing 15-20 minutes per night against mostly bench bigs is a role that likely mitigates his limitations as a finisher and perimeter defender, while allowing him to be an offensive hub and rim protector that doesn't have to worry about foul trouble. From my perspective, averaging somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-9 points, 5-6 rebounds, 2 assists and a block per game is attainable for him in that role. That's an elite second big. 

Hypothetically, Goldin will only be in Ann Arbor for a single season. In this timeframe Danny should make marginal physical gains in terms of strength/conditioning/athleticism that may pay big dividends in the subsequent season. 

Assuming that comes to fruition, I'm of the opinion that Wolf has a very realistic chance of being an All-Conference level player as a senior. The intersection of size/skill/experience/physical gains should align in a way that sees him in a featured role for what is hopefully a very good tournament-caliber team for Dusty May.