Kansas State PG Comfortable Being ‘Head Of The Snake’ On Offense

Kansas State point guard Dug McDaniel is a self-proclaimed “pass-first” point guard.

That doesn’t mean he can’t score the ball. He scored a team-high 15 points in Saturday’s victory against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Afterward, he said it helps teammates Max Jones and Brendan Hausen when the point guard is aggressive.

“It definitely helps the offense when the head of the snake of being aggressive,” McDaniel said. “Putting pressure on the defense, it opens it up for guys like Max and Brendan to get easier shots because they have to respect what I’m doing.”

The victory helped the Wildcats snap a six-game losing streak. Coach Jerome Tang has made an effort to make McDaniel become a better scorer.

“Me and coach been talking the last few days,” McDaniel said. “He’s been preaching to me to be aggressive, think score first. The pass is always going to be there. I’m a pass-first point guard. That’s like second nature to me. He just wants me to be aggressive, put pressure on the defense early so I can get my guys open.”

TANG APPRECIATES THE FANS

Tang had been under fire during the losing streak, taking criticism from fans the past few weeks. The win should calm the fan base at the time being. The Wildcats (8-11 overall and 2-6) need a lot of work to improve their resume if they want an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Tang was thankful for the strong fan turnout.

“So thankful to the students, man,” Tang said. “I walked out and I saw them, my joy tank was full seeing them. They really provided great energy for us and allowed us to get off to a great start.”

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

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