The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1318516
46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER feels to sit out for a year after transitioning to a new team. He played his freshman sea- son for Utah before transferring to NC State prior to the 2017-18 campaign, the year he redshirted. So he was able to relate to Allen and redshirt freshman guard Dereon Seabron, who both had to sit out last season — a year the Pack could've used their presence on the court. "In the moment, it's definitely tough to see the bigger picture," Daniels said. "You think it's going to be an easy transition be- cause at the end of the day it's just basket- ball, but you have to get comfortable with having loose expectations. "You've got to be open to whatever it brings, and I've tried to explain that to them. It's a whole new system. It's all a learning process and you just try to grow through it." Daniels has and will continue to do a little bit of everything for the Wolfpack. He's the second-leading returning scorer and re- bounder this season after averaging 12.7 points and 5.3 boards per game in 2019-20. He was also second on the team with 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals per contest, and was one of just two players on last year's roster to play in every game. In the Pack's 2020-21 season opener against Charleston Southern Nov. 25, Dan- iels scored a career-high 29 points and reeled in 10 rebounds for his fifth career double-double. Through three games, he was the team's leading scorer (18.0 points per game) and rebounder (tied with 5.7 boards per contest). However, after four-plus seasons at the highest level of college basketball, he knows better than to get comfortable with his own game. Despite the challenges of finding facili- ties to train at early in the summer, particu- larly in the first few weeks of an offseason accompanied by the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniels continued to sharpen his skills by working out by himself at his former elemen- tary school's playground court while he was back in his hometown of Battle Creek, Mich. Continuously trying to improve in a sport he's played since he was 4 years old, the Michigan native focused the most on devel- oping off the court with a stronger mental game this offseason. "I really want to be in the moment as much as possible," Daniels said. "When you start trying to think about plays ahead or start thinking about a missed shot, a read you could have made the previous play, you're missing stuff that's going on during the game. "I just want to take full advantage of ev- ery moment and every opportunity. I want to have fun, and I want to play with as much passion and energy as possible." He also holds his team accountable to the same high standards he applies to himself. Although NC State made the 2018 NCAA Tournament in Daniels' first year with the program, he has not yet had the opportunity to play in the Big Dance. Now likely in the After the first three contests of the 2020-21 season, Daniels paced the Wolfpack with 18.0 points and tied for the team lead with 5.7 rebounds per game. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN