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Jaelin Llewellyn talks about ability to play off-ball when needed

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•06/13/23
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Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines talks with Jaelin Llewellyn #3 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of a college basketball game against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons at Crisler Arena. Both men are healing. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

Michigan basketball enters the 2023-24 season with a pair of point guards in Jaelin Llewellyn and Dug McDaniel. The latter of which was thrust into the starting role as a true freshman when veteran Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn went out for the remainder of the year with an injury in a December game against Kentucky. Now, the duo is finally preparing to share the backcourt.

Assuming the Wolverines don’t add any other guards — which is still a very real possibility as of this writing on June 13 — then McDaniel and Llewellyn will be tasked with sharing the starting backcourt roles. But Llewellyn sees no problem with that predicament and thinks he can thrive off the ball as well.

“I mean, I think I can do both,” Llewellyn shared on the MGoBlue Podcast with Jon Jansen. “Like at my previous school, we played through our five a lot and we did some Princeton offense stuff. So a lot of it is off-ball movement and cutting and screening and getting open, so I’m used to that type of offense.”

Frankly, Llewellyn isn’t too picky about his role at this point. He just wants to get out there and ball after a year of having to sit out. “I just want to be able to get healthy, that’s the main goal,” he continued. “Then, just getting out there in whatever capacity is needed from me on the team.”

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Llewellyn is also confident in Dug McDaniel as a point guard. Sure, he took some lumps as a teenage rookie running a Big Ten offense last season, but that should only sharpen his development as a sophomore, when he’ll have a year under his belt and an experienced ball-handler in Llewellyn by his side to help take the pressure off.

“He’s definitely grown a lot and it’s fun to watch,” Llewellyn said of his younger backcourt mate. “He’s definitely a fantastic player and I think one of the things I’ve tried to just instill in him is to keep his self confidence and his swagger. And he plays the game with a lot of heart, and when he brings that heart to both sides of the floor, it’s really fun to watch.”

Hopefully the combo of Jaelin Llewellyn and Dug McDaniel is just that: very fun to watch.