The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1490206
40 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2023 BY CHRIS BALAS L ast summer, Michigan basket- ball assistant Phil Martelli was getting to know freshman Dug McDaniel a little better to see what U-M had in its point guard. A group of Michigan football players happened to walk by when the two left the player de- velopment center. "He and I were having a little pow-wow and I asked him if he missed football," Martelli recalled on a recent "Inside Mich- igan Basketball" podcast. "He was the player of the year. Now, it's a lower divi- sion in the [Washington] D.C. area. There are powerhouses in D.C., and there's a lower division. He was the player of the year in football in that lower division. "But we were outside the academic center and some of the freshman football players were walking by. I said, 'You know, you're lucky you don't play football. That kid right there would break you in half.' He looked me dead in the eye and said, 'You're nuts. I could return punts in the Big Ten tomorrow, and I would lead the country.'" To which Martelli joked he was "clini- cally insane," summing up his and Mc- Da n i e l 's p e rso n - alities in one short conversation. The latter has no fear, and he told Michi- gan head coach Ju- wan Howard, "Don't worry, coach — I've got this," when grad student point guard Jaelin Llewellyn went down with a sea- son-ending knee injury Dec. 4. Four days later, McDaniel stepped up with 15 points and 7 rebounds in his first start to lead a Michigan win at Minne- sota, making all 3 of his three-pointers and playing great basketball on both ends. "He had no change in his body, in his demeanor," Martelli recalled. "He was anxious, and I think that the extended play mattered to him. Maybe he's one of those guys that needs his name called and he could get started?" McDaniel played well on both ends, Martelli noted, making it clear the mo- ment wasn't too big for him. Since then, he's had his ups and downs, but that's to be expected of a true fresh- man. He got in foul trouble at Michigan State Jan. 8 and played 25 minutes but didn't score, notching 4 assists and 4 re- bounds. In the previous game, though — a 10-point win over Penn State — he re- corded 12 points, 4 assists and 0 turnovers. He also hit a huge floater in the lane down the stretch after PSU had cut a 14-point lead to just 3 with 1:10 remaining. More than anything, he played with the confidence needed at the position. "[The game has] definitely slowed down," McDaniel said. "A player like me is always hungry. Coming from where I'm from, my physique, my appearance, I can never be com- fortable. I'm always hungry, always ready to take on the next task. It showed." Part of that is be- cause he's slowed down, not always in fifth gear. That's allowed the 5-foot-11 point guard to better set up teammates and limit his turnovers. "It's been an emphasis, savoring our possessions, getting quality shots," Mc- Daniel said. "Me and [sophomore shoot- FEARLESS FRESHMAN First-Year Point Guard Dug McDaniel Is Now Leading The Way In The Backcourt Hunter Dickinson on McDaniel "The biggest thing that I've seen him improve is just picking his spots on when to be fast and when to be slow."