Meralco coach Norman Black believes that KJ McDaniels has enough fuel to lead them to an impressive finish in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.
Black said McDaniels had lost a significant amount of weight, making him a force to be reckoned with in the season-ending conference starting 22 January at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In his first two stints in the PBA, McDaniels led his previous squads — TNT Tropang Giga and NLEX — to playoff runs and was a candidate for Best Import award.
He joined the Bolts as replacement for former National Basketball Association player Johnny O’Bryant but couldn’t get the job done as they failed to make it to the playoffs of the Commissioner’s Cup for the first time in three years.
But Black believes that McDaniels still has what it takes to lead them to their first PBA title.
“KJ has lost about 15 to 20 pounds and is in much better shape since the last time he played for us,” Black told Daily Tribune in a telephone interview.
“We expect him to dominate this conference. I think he can get 40 points and 20 rebounds on a regular basis once the season starts.”
In six games for the Bolts, McDaniels averaged 27.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game as he tested his mettle against imports who are close to 6-foot-10 height limit.
Now, he will be back playing in a tourney where imports are not taller than 6-foot-6 and Black is thrilled to see him dominate the same way he did when he was still playing for the Tropang Giga and the Road Warriors.
In his first tour of duty in the 2019 Governors’ Cup, McDaniels pumped in impressive averages of 35.1 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 3.4 blocks per contest for TNT.
McDaniels led the KaTropa to a deep playoff run, but it was halted by Allen Durham and the Bolts in five games of their best-of-five semifinals series.
He returned two years later to reinforce NLEX, leading it to a twice-to-beat advantage going into the playoffs.
He, however, had to leave the Road Warriors to attend to a family emergency.
Black said he is thrilled over their chances in the upcoming conference, not just because of the condition of McDaniels, but because of the health of his entire roster as well.
After all, injuries to key players Chris Newsome, Cliff Hodge, Chris Banchero and, for some time, Raymond Almazan hurt the Bolts’ chances in the Commissioner’s Cup.
“We’re healthier now, knock on wood. We pretty much like our chances better this time with a much-improved K.J. McDaniels and a full roster,” Black said.
