Drew stops by to let us know what dynamic the dynamic Michigan transfer brings to Kansas State and how he fits into the overall puzzle of of the ‘24-’25 roster.
Basketball season ends and transfer season begins. After a stressful and ultimately frustrating second season at the helm of the Wildcats, Coach Tang is looking to retool a team that struggled to establish a consistent identity on either side of the court.
At the top of his shopping list appears to be a starting caliber point guard with All-Conference potential, because that’s what he’s getting in Dug McDaniel.
Another dude @AyooFlyy #KStateMBB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/7Jn3gt0mrg
— K-State Men’s Basketball (@KStateMBB) April 3, 2024
Statement from Jerome Tang on the commitment of Dug McDaniel pic.twitter.com/YEzh1CMZNY
— Ryan Gilbert (@GPCRyanG) April 4, 2024
What Dug Brings to the Court
Covering Purdue, I’ve watched Dug play a few times over the last two years, but I turned to former Michigan player and current college basketball content creator Ant Wright for his opinion first.
In Ant’s estimation, Dug is “inarguably one of the fastest players in the country, doesn’t have the same vision as Nowell but he’s a bit bigger and better scorer… can be streaky a bit from 3, but all in all, pairing him with a defensive-minded tough combo guard would be essential for a high floor, high ceiling backcourt.”
(If you’re not following Ant Wright on your social media platform of choice, I highly recommend it. You can find all his social media information here.)
Ant’s assessment, for the most part, mirrors mine. McDaniel looked like he was moving at a different speed than everyone else when I watched him play Purdue last season. He ended the game with 19 points on 7-20 shooting and 6 assists. He brought energy to a Michigan team that was sadly lacking when they traveled to West Lafayette to play the Boilermakers earlier in the season without McDaniel. That game ended 99-67 in Purdue’s favor, and the final score wasn’t indicative of just how pathetic Michigan looked in that game. With Dug in the lineup, they still lost, but in a more respectable 84-76 manner.
Dug’s not a big guy, listed at 5’11”, 160, but his speed with the ball is unrivaled in college basketball. When he gets the ball in transition, he’s a blur heading towards the rim. In Coach Tang’s first season in Manhattan, he ruthlessly pushed the pace with Markquis. According to KenPom, the Wildcats were 50th in the nation in average possession length (16.4) and 42nd in the nation in adjusted tempo. Compare that with the 2023-24 season where they played at a significantly slower pace, finishing 201st in average time of possession (17.7) and one hundred and sixty-sixth in adjusted tempo (67.7). Coach Tang is undoubtedly bringing McDaniel in to push the pace next season.
In addition to pushing the ball up the court and getting points in transition, Dug brings solid, but not quite elite shooting, hitting 56 of his 152 attempts on the season (37%) as a sophomore and hitting 33-93 as a freshman (36%). His 3-point shot is particularly devastating in transition where he can stop on a dime and pull the trigger while defenders continue to retreat in an attempt to cope with his speed.
As Ant mentioned, he doesn’t have the vision as everyone’s favorite Point God, Markquis Knowell, but that’s a tough standard to hit. He led Michigan in assist rate as both a freshman (21.4) and sophomore (27.6) while improving his turnover rate from 17.1 as a freshman to 15.6 as a sophomore. To put that into perspective, Tylor Perry led Kansas State with a 24.1 assist rate last season, but that came with a 19.6 turnover rate. Dug is more of a true point guard, as opposed to Perry, who is more of a shooting guard with a point guard body. Dug can score but doesn’t have to impact the game.
On defense, it’s a mixed bag. He’s quick and determined, but can get bullied by bigger point guards. His 1.8 steal percentage led Michigan last season but would have put him behind Cam Carter (2.3%) and tied with Tylor Perry on the K-State roster. His steal percentage of 2.2 as a freshman shows that he’s a consistent issue on the defensive end for opposing guards. Honestly, though, I’m not worried about his defense under Coach Tang. Yes, his size can be an issue, but he plays with energy and excitement and Coach is an expert at harassing that on the defensive end. You won’t confuse Dug for a defensive stopper, but he’ll be a pesky defender at the top of the key, capable of pressuring ball handlers and disrupting the opposing offense.
Highlights
The Elephant in the Room
If you haven’t heard by now, Dug McDaniel served one of the strangest suspensions in college basketball history last season, only suiting up for home games during the conference slate for “academic reasons.”
I’m not worried about it.
K-State, still smarting after the Tomlin experience last season, will keep a close eye on Dug and his academic progress. Both sides are going into this fully aware of what is expected. I’ve never met Dug, but you can tell by watching him on the court how much basketball means to him. I would be shocked if he allows it to be taken away from him again due to off-court issues.
How He Fits Into the Program
Dug wants to go fast, and Coach Tang wants to go fast; both should get what they want next season. McDaniel should immediately fill one of the starting guard spots with the returning Dai Dai Ames presumably taking the other backcourt spot. I would say McDaniel will start at point guards, and nominally he will, but in reality, Coach Tang will have two point guards on the floor, like he did last season once Ames broke into the starting lineup.
The transition possibilities for this team are insane, if they can get the correct wings in place to complement the undersized but lightning-fast backcourt. The coaching staff went a long way in filling the need at wing with the recent signing of CJ Jones (more to come on him in a future article) and the potential return of Arthur Kaluma. If you’re going to have a small backcourt, pairing them with Jones (6’5”) and Kaluma (6’7”) is crucial. You need length on wings to make up for short guards.
Putting McDaniel on the floor with Ames, Jones, and Kaluma gives the Cats 4 players that can dribble, pass, and score at all 3 levels. Throw in a rim protecting transfer big, or roll with the capable N’Guessan at the 5 and the vision comes into focus.
That doesn’t even take into consideration a bench that could feature 4* top 60 point guard David Castillo, the returning RJ Jones, and two athletic 4’s in Macaleab Rich and Taj Manning. That’s not even taking into consideration the potential return/debut of transfer guard Ques Glover. This looks like a team built to run and pressure from the opening tip.
What’s Next
Coach Tang, in my humble opinion, has enough talent, right now, to return to the tournament if everyone that could return, does, but that doesn’t mean he won’t keep taking big swings in the portal. The benefit of already having a solid roster with the addition of McDaniel and Jones is that there is no downside to going after big names, and if those big names scare off someone else on the roster, that’s part of the game at this point.
A quick scan of the transfer scene today puts Kansas State in on Rutgers big man Clifford Omoruyi (a beast on defense) and out on Arizona big man Oumar Ballo after he committed to Indiana earlier today. Duke wing Mark Mitchell is still on the table, but I wouldn’t get too excited just yet.
After that, who knows?