K-State's Dug McDaniel Ready To Serve Up Teammates

Michigan guard Dug McDaniel (0) dribbles against p1 during the first half of the First Round of Big Ten tournament at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last year Dug McDaniel was counted on to score while playing at Michigan.

Since transferring to Kansas State in the offseason, he's felt a bit of relief. McDaniel believes he no longer has to shoulder the scoring load.

"I can kind of get back to my strengths of being a pass-first guard and getting my teammates involved," McDaniel shared recently. "I've got a lot of great weapons around me."

No doubt, McDaniel can produce points. He led the Wolverines with 16.3 points and 4.7 points a game. He just feels he is more effective when getting others the ball. He is surrounded by plenty talent in Manhattan, including Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins and wing Achor Achor (Samford). There's also Arkansas transfer Baye Fall, who was a McDonald's All-American, in the mix.

When deciding to enter the portal, McDaniel said it was important to find a place where he wasn't forced to score too much.

"Going into the portal, I made an emphasis to be around a lot of great guys that could take the pressure off me," McDaniel said. "Because just knowing me, how I grew up, you know I don't want to score the ball all the time. I'm trying to get others involved. My highlight play is making a pass for my teammate. Now I can kind of get back to the flow of that."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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