Dog Mentality

By: D. Scott Fritchen

The clapping began when Dug McDaniel climbed out of a late-arriving plane at Manhattan Regional Airport close to midnight on March 31. Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang and his assistant coaches clapped and cheered on the 21-year-old Michigan standout, the fifth-rated point guard in the transfer portal, the junior-to-be stat stuffer who at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds could operate the basketball court like a surgeon.

The clapping and smiles were quite an introduction to the Little Apple, for sure, but McDaniel grinned as he and Tang hugged it out, and after a journey that spanned many, many years and featured a few tears, the young man felt at home.

He signed with K-State on April 3, becoming the first player from the 2024 transfer portal to become a Wildcat.

Now McDaniel sits in the Ice Family Basketball Center on September 26 and after the Wildcats' second official basketball practice. He wears a gray practice jersey with a black "0" affixed to the chest. He is happy that he wears the "0" as it takes him back to his childhood when he dominated the courts in a "0" jersey. McDaniel began playing basketball year-round by age 7, and the native of Washington, D.C., has almost always been the smallest player on the court.

He possesses, what he calls, a "dog mentality."

"Having that dog mentality and carrying it onto the court, sometimes you feel unstoppable out there," he says. "I'm the shortest guy, so I have to work extra hard. The dog is pretty small, but they pack a punch. I try to make that my identity."

He was born Knasir Douglas McDaniel. Although the middle name of Douglas is a family name, his aunt, Dana McDaniel, shortened it to "Dug" to celebrate his individuality because she knew he was going to be something special. Dawn McDaniel, his mother, left for work early in the morning and sometimes didn't eat so Dug could.

"I'm a product of my environment," McDaniel says. "That's the most I can say. Growing up where I'm from, you have to be tough to survive."

He was surrounded by greatness. Charles "Skip" McDaniel, his grandfather, was the legend from Archbishop Carroll. Eddie Jordan, his uncle, played seven years in the NBA, winning the 1982 NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dug could be great as well. And he could make his new K-State teammates great. And K-State, which is drenched in promising newcomers, could become one of the top teams in the ultra-competitive Big 12 Conference. There's so much to get done before the Wildcats host Fort Hays State in their lone exhibition game on October 29, and so much to fine tune before the November 5 season opener against New Orleans at Bramlage Coliseum. Yet the seeds have been planted. The seeds of success.

That's what Tang believed as he phoned McDaniel just minutes after he entered the transfer portal. Tang wanted to act fast.

"I entered the portal, my phone rang, and I answered the phone, and it was (assistant coach) Jareem Dowling, and he said, 'I have somebody for you,'" McDaniel says. Coach Tang got on the phone. This was on a Monday. On Thursday, they both were at my house. As we kept going along in the process it kept getting better.

"Now I'm home."

McDaniel has been in Manhattan for four months. So why does he consider the Little Apple home?

"It's the kind of vibe I've been looking for," McDaniel says. "It's a very secluded town, not around a lot of busy things, and I'm from the city and it's really busy, so I'm used to the fast life. I needed some tranquility in my life. Manhattan definitely gave me that home vibe, that lock-in vibe, so I love it here."

Things were assuredly busy and moving fast in Ann Arbor.

McDaniel was asked to be a scorer at Michigan. He led the Wolverines in points (16.3), assists (4.7), steals (1.1) and minutes (35.4) as a sophomore. He made a team-high 56 3-pointers as well. Seven times he scored more than 20 points and twice he scored more than 30. Once, he shredded Oregon for 33 points and 17 days later poured in 33 points against Florida.

But there's more to McDaniel than scoring. And he wants to make that abundantly clear: K-State is getting a different McDaniel. And he could not be happier.

"Going into the portal, I made it an emphasis to be around a lot of great guys who can take the pressure off me," McDaniel says. "If you really know me, you know I don't want to score the ball all the time. I'm trying to get others involved. My highlight plays are making passes for my teammates.

"Now I can get back into the flow of that, it's going to be a really great season and we're going to win a lot."

McDaniel models his game after Trae Young.

"People say we have similar games," he says. "I've been studying and watching a lot of his film. They're not lying. The way he gets his teammates involved and makes his shots is similar to what I do."

McDaniel has been focusing on defense as well.

"Defense has definitely been an emphasis going into the portal," he says. "I wanted to show teams that I could play defense. I feel like my defense has gotten a lot better. I can't wait for the season.

"I'm chasing Defensive Player of the Year. No question."

Here's another thing that McDaniel might be chasing before he completes his career at K-State: An opportunity to be considered one of the top point guards in the Big 12. Or in the country.

"I know what I'm capable of, and I know what I can do," he says. "I'm not too focused on what other people think of me. I don't go out there trying to prove anybody wrong or whatever. I just prove myself right and let myself know I'm that guy and I can compete with the best of them.

"I just need to keep going out there and show it."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Dug McDaniel

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