Juwan Howard addresses suspension details of Dug McDaniel
Michigan G Dug McDaniel is currently on one of the more unusual suspensions that you’ll see as he’ll be out for the next six road games. With that being the case, Juwan Howard provided some more clarity on the matter.
Howard spoke on McDaniel’s away-game punishment on Monday in his postgame press conference after a 73-65 win for the Wolverines over Ohio State. He confirmed that it’s due to an academic issue with McDaniel. He continued by saying it’ll head well into next month depending on how he progresses in the classroom.
“Well, like we said before, this is road games where he will not be able to attend. With that, we will see how the progression is with him academically,” said Howard. “We’ll see improvement and we’ll review it back in the middle to end of February. From there, we’ll see what’s next.”
With that being the case, Howard clarified that the suspension could in fact exceed six games if improvement isn’t clear.
“That’s exactly what I just said,” Howard said in his follow-up regarding the potential suspension length.
McDaniel is the team’s leader in scoring and assists and 17.8 points and 5.1 assists per game. He’s also averaging 4.1 rebounds and a steal while shooting 44.2% from the field and 38.2% from three.
McDaniel served the first of his current six-game suspension at Maryland on Thursday last week. He returned to the lineup against the Buckeyes in the Crisler Center today with 15 points, four assists, and three rebounds in a team-high 39 minutes.
As it currently stands, McDaniel will miss upcoming road games at Purdue, Michigan State, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, and Rutgers from now through February 29th. That stretch is important as it includes quality competition for a team that’s currently 7-10 and 2-4 in the conference.
If his suspension exceeds six games, Michigan would have just one road game left against Ohio State in Columbus on March 3rd.
You don’t often see a punishment with details like these built in as part of it. They will be McDaniel’s circumstances moving forward, though, as the Wolverines try to survive on the road without their lead guard in the backcourt.
Michigan’s initial statement on suspension of McDaniel
Dug McDaniel revealed on social media that he wouldn’t be with the program for their next six road games.
Following McDaniel’s post, the athletic department released a statement addressing the issue at hand. The statement, seen below, is courtesy of head coach Juwan Howard.
“We have very high standards within our program, culture, and university,” said Howard. “Serving as mentors, we need to set the standard 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.”