“The biggest thing is competing (for) and winning a Big Ten title,” Naymick said.

“That’s the biggest thing missing off my basketball résumé over the last five years.”

Although he’s nearing the end of his career at MSU on the hardwood, this 6-foot-10-inch Muskegon native hasn’t skipped a beat — or even thought of doing so.

“He is appreciating the things he has gone through and recognizing some of the things that we’ve tried to get through to him in terms of having a sense of urgency and locking in to the game plan,” said assistant coach Dwayne Stephens, who mainly works with the team’s forwards and centers.

“You can tell that his attention to detail and the game has changed. He’s gotten better.”

His maturity has rubbed off on his teammates as well, such as redshirt freshman center Tom Herzog — who respects Naymick on the court and as a person.

“Drew’s been here, so he knows all the moves, all the veteran tricks,” Herzog said. “I’ve learned a lot of things from him, and I try to talk to him as much as I can while he is still here. He’s great.”

Coaches realize Naymick has always done what would better the team, like mentoring the up-and-comers — not strictly focusing on himself.

“He sacrifices himself for the team — maybe not scoring as much as he wants to, but at the same time he is defending, rebounding, putting his body out there, banging with the big guys, and I think he has been a great leader by example,” Stephens said.

Naymick said he thoroughly enjoys mentoring the younger players, helping to make them as good as they can become.

“Being around guys like me helps (Herzog) just like it helped me coming up and understanding the system and learning the level of intensity it takes to compete,” Naymick said.

That intensity Naymick is talking about is a characteristic that has become a huge part of his success this season.

“Going hard — that’s one of the keys for me personally,” he said.

“I’m one of those guys who needs to go 100 percent. I need to get a little angry and a little crazy to be effective.”

And even though Naymick isn’t seen hollering across the floor or waving his arms up and down to fire up the crowd, Stephens said Naymick’s attitude is on point.

“Drew has always had a great attitude,” he said. “Drew’s a kid that has always given us a 100 percent — especially in games. No doubt about it.”

When asked about his recent interest in pulling the trigger from 15 feet out, Naymick said he works on those shots every day in practice.

“If it’s there, yeah — I won’t hesitate to shoot it,” Naymick said with a smile.