Dug McDaniel evaluates the growing confidence in his shot

Dug McDaniel was not supposed to be a starter in year one with Michigan. He came in as a heralded recruit but definitely needed a year or two to fill out his frame and learn how to play point guard at the Big Ten level — a job not for the weary. But when senior Princeton transfer and lead ball-handler Jaelin Llewellyn went down with an ACL tear against Kentucky in early December, McDaniel was thrust into the starting point guard role.

It’s no secret Michigan hoops has struggled so far this year, and Llewellyn’s absence is a huge blow to Juwan Howard’s club. One of the lone bright spots, however, is the development of Dug McDaniel, who is the point guard of the future for the Wolverines and is showing some flashes in year one.

After not scoring in double figures in any game Llewellyn played in, McDaniel has reached 10+ points in five of nine games since, with his most recent outing being a 17-point performance against Northwestern that included a trio of made threes. According to McDaniel, he’s growing more confident in that jumper by the day.

Dug McDaniel on his jumper, chemistry with Kobe Bufkin

“Right now, I’m very confident in my shot,” said McDaniel following the loss to the Hawkeyes. “You know, me and Kobe [Bufkin] work with Coach H after practice. We get a lot of threes up, 20 threes as fast as possible. But, you know, that three-point ball is — again, I’m very confident and I’m gonna keep putting it up.”

McDaniel didn’t come into college regarded as a shooting specialist, but since taking over as a starter, he’s knocked down 35% of his deep balls.

McDaniel’s growth is also helped out by backcourt mate Kobe Bufkin, who has stepped up in a major way since Llewellyn went down. The two of them are really finding their footing together, even though neither had much (or none in Dug’s case) Big Ten experience whatsoever before this season. The pair combined for 37 points in the win over the Wildcats.

McDaniel credits their improvement to great chemistry between one another on and off the court.

“Well our chemistry is going every day. You know, we hang with each other off the court as well,” McDaniel added. “So also, not having that on-court chemistry but also having that, you know, off-court chemistry as well. But we work out every day together. We do a lot of things together on the court and in practice as well, so that chemistry is going to keep continue to grow. So yeah, we’re looking good.”

Michigan faces an uphill battle in league play, having already fallen behind the eight ball. And while they may struggle to even make the tournament, there’s a lot to like for the future with the freshman-sophomore combo of McDaniel and Bufkin.