REPORT: Wolverine Goes Before Spartans' Richardson in Recent Mock Draft

In a recent NBA mock draft, Michigan's Danny Wolf was chosen a spot ahead of Michigan State's Jase Richardson. Fair or no?

Michigan State forward Coen Carr (55), left, and Michigan center Danny Wolf (1), Michigan State guard Tre Holloman (5) battle for a rebound during the first half at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Sunday, March 9, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As we've known for months now, former Michigan State guard Jase Richardson is likely to be a lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft.

Michigan State's bitter rival, Michigan, is expected to have its own representative in the first round, forward Danny Wolf, who also spent one year in the mitten but needed three years to make his case.

In a rather surprising move, CBS Sports' Kyle Boone has Wolf going ahead of the young Richardson in his latest mock draft.

Boone has the former Wolverine being selected by the Chicago Bulls at No. 12.

"It's been seven years since Chicago invested first-round capital into a center," Boone wrote. "Wolf may have the talent worthy of changing that trend given his unique guard-like skills as a 7-footer. He's dynamic as a passer, rated out well defensively and has the offensive skills to match nicely next to Matas Buzelis, Coby White and Chicago's core group."

Boone has Richardson going just after Wolf at pick No. 13, which belongs to the Atlanta Hawks.

"The son of former NBA star Jason Richardson blossomed this season into an unlikely one-and-done talent after taking over a starting spot on a top-10 Michigan State team and elevating it to a run to the Elite Eight," Boone wrote. "Richardson is a smooth bucket-getter who could be a nice complement to the contrasting styles of Trae Young and Dyson Daniels."

Wolf did have the better stats, his league-leading 9.7 rebounds standing out the most, and was a second-team all-conference selection while Richardson made third team, but Richardson didn't truly became the Jase Richardson we came to know until the Oregon game in February when he dropped a career-high 29 points.

From there, he never looked back and transformed into the Spartans' best player down the stretch and the go-to scorer they had been searching for. Had his success been found from the get-go, he surely would have been a second-team honoree, with a case for first team.

Boone's placement of Wolf seems to be solely based on position need, so this probably shouldn't be taken too seriously. But given his build, experience and ability to stretch the floor as a big, perhaps he is better suited for the NBA level right now than Richardson.

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