The Michigan basketball team has a strength that’s nearly impossible to overlook; size. Head coach Dusty May has two centers on his roster, each stretching over 7 feet tall.
Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin control the interior in ways few opponents can match. Their dominance and skill set make them a major threat, and as Michigan basketball prepares to face the nation’s top offensive rebounding team, they’ll need to be at their best.
Danny Wolf (#1)
The junior from Glencoe, Illinois stands at 7-foot and weighs 250 pounds. His size and aggressiveness helped Michigan to the 2025 Big Ten tournament title in his first year as a Wolverine.
Known as the “College Jokić,” Wolf has impressed NBA scouts with his athletic skill set. He averages nearly a double-double this season with 9.9 rebounds and 13 points, shooting a field goal percentage of 49.9.
In Michigan’s first-round win over UC San Diego, Wolf was instrumental in securing the victory, contesting Tyler McGhie’s potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. With McGhie shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc this season, UCSD got the look they wanted, but Wolf’s defense made the difference.
“We got the switch we wanted, the matchup we wanted, the guy we wanted with the ball. I know Ty felt like it was in,” said head coach Eric Olen. “But, I also thought it was pretty good defense from Wolf.”
Coach May says his big men know how to turn up the intensity.
“The rebounds he gets in the last five minutes, compare them to the first five minutes, its a completely different guy that’s 100% lost in the game, in competition,” said May after the win over BYU. “Vlad is the same way.”
Vladislav Goldin (#50)
From Voronezh, Russia, the 7-foot-one center weighs 250 pounds and is an elite finisher at the rim. Like Wolf, this is also Goldin’s first year with Michigan Basketball.
Two seasons back, Goldin was a star player on FAU’s Final Four team. When Michigan basketball fired coach Juwan Howard and hired May from FAU a year ago, the new coach brought his old center with him to Ann Arbor.
Goldin leads the his new team in scoring with 16.7 points per game, shooting an efficient 62.3% from the field. He also leads the team in made free throws, knocking down a career-best 72.7% (141-for-194) from the line. His impact earned him a spot on the 2025 All-Big Ten Second Team, alongside Wolf.
Rising to the Occasion
As Michigan gears up to face Texas A&M—the nation’s leader in offensive rebounds (16 per game)—Wolf and Goldin will need to control the paint. If they do, the Wolverines could be one step closer to another deep tournament run.
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