Danny Wolf, who starred with Israel’s U20 national team, just wrapped up his third NCAA season with averages close to a double-double while helping the Michigan Wolverines reach the Sweet 16 of the prestigious March Madness tournament.

This past Saturday morning, his magical college journey came to an end. This is likely Wolf’s final season in the top tier of College basketball, as he is expected to declare for the upcoming NBA Draft — and may even be selected in the first round.

Last season was Wolf’s breakout year. He suddenly jumped to over 30 minutes per game at Yale, posting impressive numbers for a sophomore: 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, along with a steal, 1.3 blocks and 47% shooting from the field.

His stats this year at Michigan were similar and Wolf has become a name to watch, steadily climbing in mock drafts.

Wolf has also notched personal achievements, such as MVP of the Ivy League tournament Final Four and selection to the All-Big Ten Second Team — both prestigious honors. With that in mind, there’s no doubt Wolf is finishing his collegiate career with a particularly impressive résumé. This raises the question: Who are the Israelis with the greatest college basketball careers?

Nadav Henefeld (University of Connecticut Huskies, 1989-1990)

At age 21, after two seasons with Hapoel Galil Elyon that included a State Cup title, Henefeld took a shot at college ball. He only had one season at UConn, but what a season it was. Averaging 11.6 points as a college freshman is an impressive feat. Add to that a run to the Elite Eight in March Madness — narrowly losing in overtime to Duke — just one basket shy of reaching the Final Four of one of the world’s most-watched sporting events.

Beyond all that, check out this stat: 3.7 steals per game. Thousands of players from hundreds of colleges compete in NCAA basketball each year, but in the 1989–90 season, no one had more steals than Nadav Henefeld.

Doron Sheffer (University of Connecticut Huskies, 1993-1996)

In June 1996, some huge names were called on stage in New Jersey: Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Steve Nash and – shortly after them — Doron Sheffer. Though he never ended up playing in the NBA, being drafted in one of the most legendary drafts ever was no small thing. And it was thanks to what Sheffer accomplished in three seasons at UConn.

He hit the ground running, winning Big East Rookie of the Year, beating out none other than his teammate Ray Allen. In his freshman year, Sheffer also made the Big East All-Third Team, then moved up to the All-Second Team in his next two seasons. In his final year, he and Allen led UConn to a conference title. The team also made two Sweet 16s and reached the Elite Eight, where they lost to UCLA — but not before Sheffer dropped 24 points.

To this day, Sheffer is the only player in UConn history to record 1,000 points and 500 assists in just three seasons.

Amit Tamir (University of California (Berkeley) Golden Bears, 2001-2004)

In 2001, Amit Tamir packed his bags, said goodbye to Hapoel Jerusalem and flew to California. Over three seasons at the University of California, Berkeley, he earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors and was later named to the All-Pac-12 Team.

He posted solid regular-season numbers — 9.9 points per game as a freshman and double figures in his final two years. Tamir and Cal reached March Madness twice, though on that big stage he struggled, failing to hit double-digit scoring in any of his four tournament games.
Tamir was also known for his shooting touch, especially rare for a center. He shot 81% from the free-throw line (one of the best in school history) and 36% from three.

Jake Cohen (Davidson College Wildcats, 2009-2013)

In the summer of 2010, Jake Cohen came to Israel to help the U20 national team return to Division A of the European Championship. The team fell short, finishing fifth, but Cohen was the tournament’s leading scorer. Anyone who followed his college career — which began in 2009 at Davidson College and ended in 2013 — wouldn’t have been surprised.

By the end of the 2009–10 season, Cohen became the first Davidson freshman since Steph Curry to lead the team in scoring.

His junior and senior seasons were his biggest leap: he led Davidson to back-to-back Southern Conference titles, was named conference MVP twice and helped the school reach the NCAA Tournament both years. His averages were consistently strong — at least 12 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block per season across all four years.

To this day, Cohen is Davidson’s all-time leader in blocked shots and ranks highly in several other statistical categories as well.

Honorable Mentions

The list of Israelis who’ve played college ball is longer than one might think. Many went under the radar at the time or didn’t transition into pro basketball afterward. Still, some had noteworthy college careers, like Itzik Ohanon and Egor Koulechov. T.J. Leaf had one monster year at UCLA, but was left off this list since he grew up entirely in the U.S. and had no meaningful ties to Israeli basketball, unlike Jake Cohen. Emanuel Sharp spent more years in Israel and is currently playing college ball — but since his career is still in progress, we’ll wait until it’s over to judge where he ranks among the greats.

So who do you think had the greatest college basketball career of any Israeli?