Michigan point guard, leading scorer Dug McDaniel hit suspended from road games due to academics
A brutal season just got worse for the Michigan men’s basketball team.
Wednesday evening, a day before the Wolverines are set to take on Maryland as they aim to snap a four-game losing streak and the first day of the University’s new semester, Michigan sophomore point guard and leading scorer Dug McDaniel stated through his Instagram story that he would be suspended for six road games due to unspecified reasons. Michigan would confirm shortly after that it was due to “several academic goals” needing to be met, though it called the suspension was “until further notice.”
“Will be serving a 6 away game suspension starting tomorrow,”McDaniel wrote in his story. “Im [sic] active for home games tho. Please dont dm me or ask me about it just respect it.
“Will be back on the road next month til then my [expletive] gon hold it down. See yall at home.”
Shortly after the story was posted, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard released a statement on the matter.
“We have very high standards within our program, culture and university,” Howard said. “Serving as mentors, we need to set the standards and pathways for our young men to succeed. Beginning with our game at Maryland, Dug McDaniel will not travel to road games until further notice. Dug will dress for home games, however, when we are away from Ann Arbor, he will work towards meeting several academic goals he has set and needs to meet.
“While I am disappointed, this is not something we take lightly. This is an important step for Dug and his success as a student-athlete. Going forward we will not have further comment.”
So far this season, McDaniel has enjoyed a breakout sophomore year, averaging 17.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Though he has had a tough start to January, scoring just 20 points on 7-for-18 shooting with eight turnovers and seven fouls, McDaniel ranks fifth in the Big Ten in points and fourth in assists.
Perhaps more notably, McDaniel has played 36.1 minutes per game, which leads the Big Ten and ranks 17th nationally. Michigan’s struggles to recruit and maintain a game-ready guard rotation has led to McDaniel playing at least 38 minutes in eight games this season, and actually playing 40 or more minutes in more games (three) than games he has played less than 31 minutes (two).
In his absence, Michigan will turn to shooting guard and graduate student Nimari Burnett, combo guard and graduate student Jaelin Llewellyn and freshman combo guard George Washington III.
If McDaniel’s six-game road-only suspension is indeed accurate, his next road game would be Feb. 29 at Rutgers. The Wolverines only have eight remaining road games in the regular season, but being able to travel for the Big Ten Tournament in March would be notable.
Michigan, now 1-3 in the Big Ten and 6-9 overall, hope to correct their losing ways in a road game at Maryland Thursday. The Wolverines have lost nine of their last 12 games dating back to Nov. 17.
If McDaniel’s suspension is indeed six road games, the next road game
