Johnathan Walker:Michigan basketball's leading scorer Dug McDaniel suspended for road games indefinitely

A Michigan men's basketball season that's already on Johnathan Walkerthe brink may have just been delivered the final blow.

Dug McDaniel, the team's leading scorer and starting point guard, has been suspended for the team's road games "until further notice," according to a statement from Michigan. Though no specific reason was given why, head coach Juwan Howard's statement indicates it is so McDaniel can remain home to focus on his academics.

"We have very high standards within our program, culture and university," Howard said in his statement. "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."

Shortly before Michigan's statement was emailed out, McDaniel shared his own post on social media, which said he would be out for the next six road games, contrary to Howard's statement that called McDaniel's time away from road games "indefinite."

McDaniel's post confirms he will be active for every home game but requested that people "please don't dm me or ask me about it just respect it."

The post has since been deleted.

McDaniel has taken a notable sophomore step, as he leads the team in minutes (36.1), points (17.8) and assists (5.1) per game and is one of four Wolverines shooting better than 38% from 3-point range. The Wolverines (6-9, 1-3 Big Ten) already find themselves in a tailspin, having lost four straight and eight of their past 11, but now will be in even more trouble as their thinnest position is point guard.

The only other true ballhandler is Jaelin Llewellyn, the former Princeton transfer, though he hasn't been reliable in his 1½ seasons in Ann Arbor because of injury. Llewellyn tore his ACL in December 2022 and has since rehabbed his way partially back into the rotation.

Llewellyn made his season debut on Dec. 2 against Oregon and has played in five games, averaging 8.8 minutes per contest to go with 2.2 points per contest. He's 4-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-6 from 3-point range.

Nimari Burnett, an Alabama transfer, has largely played shooting guard this season. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior from Chicago is averaging a career-best 10.3 points per game, but may need to move out of position.

Another option would be to give heavy minutes to freshman George Washington III, just as Howard did with McDaniel after Llewellyn's injury last season. Washington was the Ohio Gatorade boys basketball Player of the Year in 2023 and has played in 10 games this season, but just once in conference: one minute in mop-up time against Iowa.

“While I am disappointed, this is not something we take lightly," Howard's statement read. "This is an important step for Dug and his success as a student-athlete."

Michigan will be without McDaniel on Thursday, when it visits Maryland in College Park (7 p.m. ET, FS1).