Dug McDaniel Reflects On Michigan Commitment: 'It Just Felt Like Home'

Dug McDaniel didn't want to wait to commit to Michigan while on his official visit in Ann Arbor June 16-18. On Thursday night, June 17, the four-star point guard from Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI and Rivals.com's No. 75 player nationally pulled the trigger and made his pledge to Juwan Howard and Co. right then and there.

McDaniel, who chose the Maize and Blue over offers from Arizona State, Florida, UConn, Vanderbilt and others, was thought of to be a Michigan lean for almost a year, but his recruitment remained fully open and the Wolverines continued to pursue other lead guards in the class of 2022. But once he got the chance to take his official visit, there wasn't much else he needed to see.

"Once we went on the visit, it just felt like home, so it made the decision way easier," McDaniel told TheWolverine.com

"It’s just a decision me and my family made when we got back to the hotel and had time to talk it out."

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The commitment elicited quite the response from Howard, who has had a strong relationship with McDaniel for years, as his son, 2022 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star Jett Howard, attended basketball camps with McDaniel growing up. On that Thursday night, the Wolverines' staff had a presentation for McDaniel and his family in Crisler Center that included videos of former Wolverine players sharing their positive experiences about the program.

"There were a lot of guys, like Zavier Simpson, even guys like Duncan Robinson, who didn’t get to play for him … they had a lot of great things to say about the program," McDaniel said. They each made like little slideshows. They had great things to say about the culture they’re building.

"They were just saying they had to work for everything they got, nothing was given. And they appreciate Coach Juwan coming back. He could’ve had any job he wanted, but he came back and is bringing back that old-school culture to the school."

Then, McDaniel announced that he had his own presentation to make.

"Before that, me and my mom were at the hotel, had a meeting and said we were going to do it," McDaniel said. "So after the presentation, we just let them know we had an announcement to make, and that we were going to commit. [Howard] yelled, ‘Let’s go’ really loud [and you could hear it] around the arena."