The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1484283
36 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2022 "Jett, and Kobe as well, have the ability to burn teams if and when they do that. "What I love most [in the early going] was the efficiency of Hunter Dickinson. He's going to have his double-doubles, no doubt. But a double-double on what, 11 shots? That's great. "And he didn't go to the free throw line all that much [9-of-10 in the first two games]. That was really encouraging. Hunter Dickinson getting double-dou- bles is not new. Hunter Dickinson rack- ing up efficient double-doubles? That can take this team to a really high level." POINT GUARDS, LINEUPS AND MORE FOR U-M Llewellyn played 25 minutes in the season opener, McDaniel 14. The two point guards managed a bucket apiece, with McDaniel's electrifying the Crisler Center crowd. The freshman freed himself up for a race downcourt with a behind-the-back dribble in the face of a defender. He then sped away crosscourt to fire in a high- bank layup over a taller player. Boesch sees both performers teaming up for the Wolverines over the winter. "McDaniel is going to play," Boesch said. "He's got to play. He adds a dy- namic that is difficult to coach, just with how quick he is. "There are going to be some growing pains. He's going to commit some fresh- man turnovers, where you go, what in the world was he thinking? But that tran- sition play, with the behind-the-back dribble, was as good of a play as we saw from any Michigan guard last season. "It was smooth. It was quick. It was fluid. You'll have to live with the growing pains of a guy like Dug McDaniel." Both guards will need to contribute substantially for Michigan to get where it wants to go, Boesch opined. He noted Llewellyn has come out of the gate very much the pass-first player, similar to DeVante Jones last year. "The Mike Smith trajectory is the ex- ception, not the norm, for a grad trans- fer," Boesch cautioned, referring to Smith's immediate success two years ago. "If it has to go to DeVante's path for Jaelin, that still yielded a lot of success for Michigan down the stretch. "In the heart of Big Ten play, DeVante was as important to Michigan as anybody but Hunter Dickinson. For as much as Frankie Collins added down the stretch last year, Dug McDaniel is ahead of where Frankie Collins was at this point. I don't think there's any question. "There's a little bit more of a safety net, to allow Jaelin to feel things out and get acclimated to a higher level." Boesch expects a 30- to 10-minute split between Llewellyn and McDaniel, or even 20-20 at times, but stressed each will likely play double-digit minutes. Llewellyn played 29 minutes against EMU, scoring 12 points and making his biggest impact down the stretch by mak- ing 8 of 12 free throws. Among the bigger players, there's a bit more uncertainty. The head coach will certainly experiment with lineups, and Boesch pondered potential bench contributors. He expressed mild surprise at not see- ing 6-7 sophomore guard Isaiah Barnes in the opener. Barnes played six minutes in the second game, grabbing 2 rebounds but going 0-for-1 from the field. From a Freshman Dug McDaniel is expected to contribute valuable minutes at point guard this sea- son. He had 5 assists and 4 steals combined in the first two games. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL