The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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62 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2023 M i c h i g a n f r e s h m a n point guard Dug Mc- Daniel gained some valuable experience this past season, which should serve him well in his seemingly bright fu- ture. He played a much bigger role than expected due to grad- uate student Jaelin Llewellyn's season-ending knee injury, starting 26 of 34 games and av- eraging 30.8 minutes and 8.6 points per game. The 5-foot-11, 160-pounder improved as the season went on, especially with his shot making and defense, but he has two things he should work on most this offseason: passing and finishing around the rim. McDaniel's 21.4 assist rate ranked 11th in the Big Ten and 10th among point guards, per analytics from KenPom.com. That's also the lowest by a Mich- igan point guard who started at least half of the team's games since Derrick Walton Jr. (18.8) in 2014-15. Walton played in 18 contests before missing the conclusion of the season with an injury. McDaniel was good at getting his own shot off, but he needs to become more efficient inside the arc. He shot 35.5 percent on 93 three-point attempts, which tied for third on the team among those with 50 or more three-point tries. His 39.9 two-point field goal percent- age (71 of 178), though, slotted sixth on the team among those with 50 or more attempts. According to Synergy, McDaniel shot 32 percent at the rim, which checked in dead last out of the 78 Big Ten play- ers who attempted 50 or more shots in close. In fact, second to last, Wiscon- sin's Chucky Hepburn, was 12.3 per- centage points higher (44.3). Given that McDaniel graded out in the 58th percentile nationally with his jump shot (47.8 effective field goal percent- age) and 72nd percentile with his runner (43.8), making buckets at the rim is the missing piece to him becoming an ef- ficient three-level scorer. It's going to take a lot of work, and his size is a disadvantage, but McDaniel, by all accounts, is willing and able to do what it takes to make a major move this offseason. * * * At the 2023 NFL Combine, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said, "I could have won two Heismans back to back if I had won those two games [against Michigan]," referring to a 42-27 loss at The Big House in 2021 and a 45-23 de- feat in Columbus in 2022. Stroud, a projected top-10 NFL Draft pick, added that he strongly consid- ered coming back to school to try to beat Michigan — he of all people knows there's no guarantee it would happen — rather than ending his career winless against the Wolverines, who've been the class of the Big Ten the last two seasons. A wise man once said, "If worms car- ried pistols, birds wouldn't eat 'em." If this, if that … the fact of the matter is, Stroud and Ohio State didn't beat Michigan ei- ther time, and neither game was all that close at the end. Some of the recent comments out of the Woody Hayes Ath- letic Center, not just this one, feel similar to the ones Buckeye fans mocked Michigan for in prior years. After the 2021 wake-up call, the Buckeyes talked about being tougher, about placing more of an emphasis on "The Game," but it wasn't even close to be- ing enough in 2022. Michigan marched into Columbus, put on a masterful performance and watched OSU fold when the go- ing got tough. We've seen that before in this rivalry, from the other side, even after promises that things would be different. In the second half of the 2022 game, meanwhile Michi- gan captain Mike Sainristil ad- dressed his defense, standing up on his bench, pointing at the Ohio State sideline and proclaiming that his team was more prepared for the big mo- ment. "They have their heads down," Sain- ristil said, per The Athletic's Bruce Feldman. "We know who the f— they are! They are exactly who we thought they are! "Let's keep our foot on the gas. Keep executing. Don't give them anything. Keep taking everything." For Michigan coaches, players and fans, it feels a heck of a lot better to be the ones laughing. As for Stroud, we wish him all the best in attempting to become one of the few successful NFL quarterbacks from Ohio State. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ ❱ CLAYTON SAYFIE Dug McDaniel's Offseason To-Do List Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton. Sayfie@on3.com and follow him on Twitter @CSayf23. McDaniel stepped up to play a big role at point guard as a fresh- man, averaging 30.8 minutes and 8.6 points per game. Going forward, the analytics point to two key areas for his development — passing and finishing around the rim. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL