In the South Regional semifinal of the 2013 NCAA Tournament, No. 4 seed Michigan trailed top-seeded Kansas by double digits in the late stages of the second half. A comeback appeared not only unlikely, but almost impossible.

But John Beilein's Wolverines, led by star sophomore point guard Trey Burke, chopped away at the lead and cut the deficit to three with just seconds remaining.

The rest is history.

Burke launched a 30-foot prayer from beyond the arc and connected, sending the game to overtime, where Michigan completed its near-impossible comeback.

The Wolverines headed to their first Elite Eight in almost 20 years (1994), and Michigan fans rejoiced.

One of them was a young Danny Wolf.

Wolf, whose family features multiple former Michigan students, fell in love with Michigan and became a fan. Then, at just 8 years old, though, Wolf had a long way to go before he'd be looked at by colleges.

Over the years, as Wolf continued to perfect his skill set, he started to get noticed as a recruit. However, at the time, a walk-on opportunity was the best Michigan could offer.

Wolf enrolled at Yale, where he played two seasons with the Bulldogs. And after two years with Yale, Wolf no longer felt that continuing to play at the Ivy League school was the best path for his development as a basketball player. He entered the Transfer Portal after the 2023-24 season.

"I was pretty set on staying at Yale, and then after our season concluded, just my family and those close to me and trainers and coaches growing up and people in my circle, it became pretty clear that if I wanted to succeed at the next level and reach my goals of playing and doing well at the next level, it was in my best interest to take that jump and go to the power five and prove myself against the highest level of bigs night in and night out," Wolf said on Tuesday's episode of the 'Defend the Block' podcast with Brian Boesch.

Wolf entered the Portal with a 'do not contact' tag because he "didn't want to entertain" schools he wasn't interested in.

"I had a very small list of schools that I'd be interested in, which a lot of them were high-academic because my parents prided me in getting the highest degree I can. So that shortened my list, which made the decision easier. Well, at least I thought."

"As it came down to it, it was a bunch of very high-level basketball schools that were also very prestigious in the classroom. And then coach [Dusty] May was one of the first coaches to reach out to me and laid out his vision for me and the program."

"And the one thing that really stood out was the ability to play the 4 and the 5. Because, the first question I asked [May] was, 'Is Vlad Goldin going to come with you?' And he was pretty certain he was."

"So that kind of created question marks at the same time. It also raised a higher level of interest in Michigan. ... Just with my skill set and how it translates to the next level, playing the 4 is something that I need to do."

"And I think once that became clear and I got all my questions out [of] the way and they said that they see me at the 4, the 5, and just coming different actions and all that stuff, it seemed pretty seamless. And then came on a visit, fell in love with the coaching staff."

Wolf said that when he sat down for breakfast with the coaching staff for the first time, it seemed as though they had been together for years.

"It's just the way they bonded and connected. And they all had the same vision for each other and for the team. ... When I resonate with the coaches and I get along with them well, it makes everything so much easier and more pleasant."

Above all else, though, Wolf chose Michigan because of the opportunity to play the 4 and the 5.

"[May] wanted to make it very clear that I was coming in to play the 4 and the 5," Wolf said. "Because at Yale, I played the 5, and I was never at the 4. But a lot of people would always say that I was a 4. So just got here on my visit with Vlad, and we connected instantly. And he's always smiling. He's always in a good mood and got shots up together. And very quickly, it became evident that this could work out and it could be really special."

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