UW's McDaniels Needs a Growth Spurt
Jaden McDaniels is a bit of a mystery.
Tall and willowy with uncommon quickness for his size, he has skills rare for college basketball.
The 6-foot-9 freshman should be flat-out dominating games for Washington.
Instead, McDaniels has trouble staying in them.
While this expected lone season with the Huskies is meant to be a pro audition for him, effectively slotting him as a lottery pick in the draft, NBA scouts have to be wondering what his motivation is right now?
No surprise for someone so young and talented, McDaniels appears to have an immature streak in him.
For the wickedly talented, the NBA tends to be forgiving, but the teenager's actions still aren't helping him--or the Huskies.
Early in the season, McDaniels snubbed a Maine player trying to shake his hand.
He got into a shoving match in a physical Montana game and drew a technical.
He tapped the back of a Hawaii player's head on the foul line and was assessed another T.
Seated on the bench against UCLA, McDaniels committed his worst infraction yet: he threw a ball hard to an unsuspecting official and accepted another technical, giving him four personal fouls--all in the first half.
On Thursday night, the Federal Way product ended up fouling out with 16:10 left to play in a 66-64 loss to the Bruins. He took four shots and scored 3 points. He was a non factor in a big game.
"We can't have that kind of behavior," UW coach Mike Hopkins said. "We need him to play. We just can't do that. There's no place in the game for that."
Hopkins calls him a good kid. However, with his perpetual vacant stare, McDaniels seems a little disconnected. Watch him, and the big man works hard on his game in warmups. Talk to him, and he gives off a positive impression.
"We'll play better if we're both on the same page and doing well, but it's not just us," McDaniels said earlier of playing in tandem with fellow freshman Isaiah Stewart, who appears respectful of his basketball surroundings at all times. "Everybody has to be on the same page."
More than ever, with USC coming up next for the Huskies on Sunday night, McDaniels needs to follow his own advice.
