Dug McDaniel could be Michigan’s best freshman guard in a decade

Michigan basketball has been a tough team to gauge so far this year. On the one hand, they have some of the best star potential in the country, with players like center Hunter Dickinson, point guard Dug McDaniel, and forward Jett Howard consistently making big plays for the Wolverines.

On the other, Michigan currently sits at 10-7 and looks to have an outside shot at the NCAA Tournament after making the Sweet 16 just one season ago. Still, one of the bright spots Wolverine faithful can look to is the fact that plenty of young stars have made significant impacts on the court early in their careers.

One of those young stars is point guard Dug McDaniel who’s found himself in the starting slot much earlier than anticipated. However, in this newfound role on the team, he’s had some elite moments, leading us to wonder, when was the last time Michigan basketball had a freshman point guard make such a significant impact?

New starting role for Dug McDaniel

To begin the year, most expected McDaniel to backup starting guard Jaelin Llewellyn, who had recently transferred over from Princeton. Unfortunately, that didn’t last very long, as Llewellyn would face a season-ending injury just eight games into the year.

Llewellyn’s injury would mean that someone needed to step in as the starting point guard, and McDaniel was ready for his moment. In his first game as a starter, McDaniel played an integral role in the Wolverines’ 90-75 victory over Minnesota, logging 15 points, seven assists, and three steals in just 27 minutes on the floor.

This was a massive game for the freshman guard, and it got Michigan fans talking about what this could mean for the future of Michigan basketball.

Continued success

While his first start as a Michigan Wolverine was undoubtedly impressive, his success did not stop there. On the season, McDaniel is currently averaging 7.1 points per game, good enough for fourth on the team.

Even more impressive is that he currently leads the team in assists per game (3.4) and is second in steals (1.2). He has accomplished this all while averaging just 24.2 minutes per game, which ranks sixth on the team.

In an up-and-down season, McDaniel has proven to be a pleasant surprise for Michigan basketball, showing just how bright the future could be for the Wolverines.

In the last six games, McDaniel scored at least 10 points in four of the outings and logged at least one steal in each. If he can keep this up, there is little doubt that he could become the next great Michigan point guard as he still has three years of eligibility remaining.

History of Michigan point guards

While there’s little doubt Michigan basketball has had plenty of successful point guards over the years, only a few have found as much success as McDaniel has in their freshman seasons. The last point guard to make a significant impact in his first college season might be Wolverine basketball legend Trey Burke.

No, I am by no means attempting to compare Dug McDaniel and Trey Burke. Still, it’s notable just how successful McDaniel has been thus far in his college career. Trey Burke led the Wolverines in his two seasons with the program, with 14.8 and 18.6 points per game, respectively. He would also go on to win the National college player of the year award in 2013, showing just how elite he was at Michigan.

The season is far from over, and Dug McDaniel’s career is incredibly young, but Michigan basketball fans have every reason to be excited about his potential with the program. He’ll have yet another opportunity to show what he can do tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. EST versus the Maryland Terrapins.

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