Bufkin's Development Making Big Difference for Wolverines

The sophomore guard's 22 points led Michigan to an 83-75 win Saturday over Lipscomb, and freshman point guard McDaniel's late scoring helped pull it out

Kobe Bufkin is capable of leading the team as point guard or filling the net as a shooting guard.

Photo Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Kobe Bufkin is answering the call for this Michigan basketball team.

The Wolverines have needed a reliable third scorer to go with junior center Hunter Dickinson (19.1 points per game) and freshman guard Jett Howard (15.5).

Bufkin had a career-high 22 points in Saturday afternoon’s 83-75 win over Lipscomb University, coming off his previous best of 15 in the last game at Minnesota. He’s been in double-figures in five consecutive games and has his season average up to 11.4.

Michigan also needs major help at point guard with transfer starter Jaelin Llewellyn out for the season after tearing an ACL two games back in London against Kentucky.

Freshman Dug McDaniel had a great first start at the point against the Golden Gophers. He scored a career-high 15 points, going three-for-three on 3-pointers, and also had 7 assists to just 2 turnovers, 3 steals and 2 rebounds.

However, McDaniel did pretty much nothing offensively until the stretch run – when he was a big reason why the Wolverines averted the upset against the Bisons. He scored all 7 of his points in the final 3:32 and also had a team-high 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

“We were in a lull and it’s my job on the team to give that spark,” said McDaniel, whose first points on a floating jumper gave Michigan the lead it never lost. “I looked around at my guys and we needed a spark, and I felt that I should step up and give us that spark that we needed.”

McDaniel is being counted upon to start. Still, Wolverines coach Juwan Howard needs a backup on the point. And Bufkin, long-limbed at 6-foot-4, is more than capable moving there from big guard when McDaniel is out of the game.

Bufkin, a sophomore who posted a season-high 11 points against Southern Utah as a freshman, was the saving grace for Michigan (7-3) in this one.

He was a plus-12 to lead the Wolverines in that category, and it was an indication of how he impacted every facet of the game. Bufkin was four-for-five on 3-pointers, eight-for-nine on all field goal attempts, and also had 4 rebounds and 1 steal.

One important point is that he was canning treys from all along the arc, making him that much tougher to defend.

“Kobe – he’s a competitor,” said Howard. “He’s a guy who loves basketball, fell in love with the game of basketball, is a student of the game. I mean, he’s a grinder.”

Bufkin’s transformation could help this team develop into one that reaches the NCAA Sweet 16 for a sixth straight season.

“He’s giving us a lot,” said junior forward Terrance Williams III, who had 11 points and 6 rebounds. “I see all the work he puts in the gym and it’s paying off. I’m used to this. I see it in practice every day. I see the shots he’s making on a constant basis now.”

McDaniel added, “I agree. I’m not surprised at all. He’s in the gym 24/7. He takes quality shots. He’s very efficient. And we need Kobe to continue to be Kobe. He’s starting to find himself defensively after feeling he wasn’t up to par defensively.

“This whole summer, all off-season, he’s been priding himself on being the best defender on the team. When we need a stop, he always shows up. I’m thankful for his defensive progress this year, for sure.”

Bufkin wasn’t brought out to the post-game press conference. Who knows? Maybe he was getting in some extra work on shooting, weights or conditioning in the Davidson Development Center. When I worked for the University of Michigan Athletic Department and had full access, I recall guys like Moe Wagner and Isaiah Livers often putting in more time on their game long after the games ended.

Wolverine radio analyst Terry Mills said Bufkin has come so far that he was prompted to tell listeners: “The way he’s playing defense, he should be getting some all-defensive [team] mentions.”

Mills added on his offense: “Right now, he’s in attack mode. I tell you, I like Kobe Bufkin running that point position. He’s gaining confidence, and playing with a certain fire and edge. And he can be a leader. He’s coming into his own.”

Bufkin, a four-star McDonald’s All-American at Grand Rapids Christian, is now tapping into that great potential.

Most of the 12,470 in Crisler Center rose to their feet in the final seconds while McDaniel dribbled away the clock. It was a standing ovation for finding a way to win against a Lipscomb (7-5) team that provided good competition. Notre Dame survived the Bisons, 66-65, one month ago in South Bend, Ind.

“Winning is hard,” said Michigan coach Juwan Howard. “We can all sit back and watch TV or sit in the stands and think it’s so easy…(It’s) hard. It’s not easy. The bright light is focused in on you… But they find ways because they are gritty, they are competitive. They care. They work hard in practice and try their hardest in games to go out and perform.

“I’m so damn proud of them.”

Howard expanded on Bufkin’s progress this season:

“Kobe’s been great for us throughout the year. And for our team to affect winning, that doesn’t always have to show up in scoring. That entails both sides of the ball – offensively and defensively.

“And one of the biggest improvements for Kobe has been his defense. I know my staff would agree with me, but we’re watching a young man who’s becoming a two-way player. Last year, as a freshman, the game was moving so fast for him, and he was doing his best to try to grasp the teaching.

“His second year, he’s starting to get more confident. He starts feeling more comfortable, and you can see how he’s allowing the game come to him on the offensive end, but at the same time defensively. He’s impacting in so many ways.”

McDaniel, like Bufkin, is exhibiting that winning quality and mental toughness.

McDaniel said: “I feel like I’ve always had some type of confidence, some type of swag about me. No matter if I go 0-for-11, I’m always going to have high energy and swag. Coach Howard is very old school and he’s a player’s coach. He knows exactly how to get us fired up. Him bringing that energy definitely wears off on us.

“I’m the point guard, and our relationship might be different from other players on the court. But he knows what gets me fired up if he’s got to get on me to get me turned around. We have a very good relationship to the point where he knows how to get me fired up…Tonight was my rebounding night. I had to get us as many as I could and some extra possessions.”

Each of his rebounds came on defense and many started fastbreaks.

“You can impact the game in lots of ways beside the points,” said Howard. “We focus on playing both sides of the ball. One of the things that sticks out to me on the stat sheet is that he had eight rebounds. He’s the leading rebounder, and I called him a ‘big guard’ tonight. He went in there and grabbed some tough rebounds down the stretch.

“Dug is the right person and has the right makeup for that position, and he’s going to help lead us.”

And, like Bufkin, just how good he becomes will determine just how good these Wolverines become, too.

Freshman point guard Dug McDaniel scored all 7 of his points in the final 3:32, and had a game-high 8 rebounds.

Photo Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography