The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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[ 2023-24 BASKETBALL PREVIEW ] 36 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2023 "What I like about him is his growth … he's a quieter guy, but I'm impressed with his willingness to trust. Sometimes these guys transfer and come into a new situation where maybe they don't trust." Jackson will play the three and the four, but the 6-foot-9 Nkamhoua can play up to three positions, including backup center. He'll be out there at the five when they play small, and he has the body and mentality to do it after averaging 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds at Tennessee last year. "He is a grown man," Martelli said. "Physically, his shoulders are really wide. He willingly shares with you what he sees, what he thinks. He'll ask ques- tions. He speaks to his teammates. "I think the biggest thing he brings is he's played 130 college basketball games at the highest of levels. He's a very in- teresting dude." He can score inside and out, but he's best in one area, the coach added. "Power basketball," Martelli said. "He can score with his back to the basket; he can take you and shed you at the basket. He has a versatile game and a develop- ing perimeter game." These three and redshirt sophomore Will Tschetter, who has made big strides and gotten stronger and more confident in the offseason, will hold down the fort in the middle for the Wolverines in a strong Big Ten. All bring different traits, but they've all got the mentality to com- pete, Martelli insisted, and he is anxious to see them in action. DUG MCDANIEL LEADS HUNGRY BACKCOURT Those bigs will rely on the " little guys" to get them the ball, and the Wol- verines have a good one in sophomore Dug McDaniel (8.6 points per game last year). He was forced into more action than expected a year ago when Princeton transfer and fellow point guard Jaelin Llewellyn went down with a season- ending knee injury in early December last year. While McDaniel had his ups and downs, he played well for a fresh- man. He continues to improve his shot, but for a player not known as a shooter, he fared pretty well a season ago. He shot 35.5 percent from three-point range and 76.8 from the line, and 38.4 percent from the floor overall. He'll be asked to finish better at the rim and continue to improve his midrange game in 2023-24. "With Dug, I would say he's shooting the ball more confidently, and he's mak- ing shots at a higher rate," Martelli said. "He needs to continue to grow in terms of care of the ball. The other thing he's doing very well is he's defending the ball aggressively. "Because he's defensing the ball ag- gressively, a kid like [freshman] George Washington III is improving. [Alabama transfer] Nimari Burnett's ball skills are improving. Dug is committed as a good teammate to helping his teammates im- prove." He's also taking it upon himself to be more vocal with his teammates and de- velop into a leader, Martelli added. "And now his goal is to get into that elite conversation of point guards in this league," Martelli said. "He's a different guy — he is not a freshman anymore. Last year there were lots of times he was a freshman." Llewellyn's first goal is to return healthy — he still hadn't been cleared to go 100 percent as of Oct. 17 — and then to improve upon his 2022-23 per- formance. He made only 5 of 27 triples — he's a much better shooter than that — and shot 30.9 percent overall. The Wolverines are going to need an- other ball handler behind McDaniel, and Llewellyn has been rehabbing hard to make that happen. He's running and jumping in drills, but still needs to take another step. "Certainly, a commitment to improv- ing is a really big deal with that injury," Martelli said. "His surgery was in Janu- ary, so this is the 10th month. If you look Forward Tarris Reed Jr. is primed to take on a bigger role for the Wolverines in his sophomore sea- son. He played in all 34 games a year ago, averaging 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL