Stu Douglass felt pressure last year. He was a freshman thrust into a starting role on an NCAA-bound Michigan basketball team.

Even when he played well, there were games he felt pushed the action too much.

“It’s funny,” Douglass said. “Like UCLA, I had success but I was pressing, and the next game against Duke at Madison Square Garden, same thing, different result. I had to be more comfortable and when you press, you never know what’s going to happen.

“If I stay clear mentally, I’ll have a better season this year and it helps, definitely, with a year of experience.”

Now a sophomore, Douglass says he still isn’t entirely sure of his role this season. Coming into the year with the loss of senior point guards C.J. Lee and David Merritt along with the development of a freshman in Darius Morris, there was a thought he’d have to move to the point.

Then again, that would perhaps hurt his outside shooting - one of the things Michigan coach John Beilein praises most often about the Carmel, Ind., native. So the head started wandering again.

As Morris emerged as the starting point guard, Douglass has started the first two games on the Michigan bench. But at the same time, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound combo guard gained clarity with what he’s supposed to be doing.

“Stu is very comfortable (at the point), but we can’t have Stu out there worry about running the team at times when he has a dagger for a jump shot,” Beilein said. “He’s got to know his talent and what it is and look for that.

“He’s passed up a couple shots thinking like a point guard. We can’t have him passing up shots.”

The pressure has been lifted as Michigan has practiced and shown the ability to receive offense from every position on the floor in both the Wolverines’ exhibition and season-opener against Northern Michigan.

Beilein said this transformation - and it’s like this with a lot of players - will be a season-long evolution. Roles change but for now, this is where Douglass is.

It’s been working. Douglass is more comfortable now and is finding shots easier. He can still play point guard if needed, but with Morris and Laval Lucas-Perry, his role is to keep shooting.

“I’ve kind of been back and forth on what my role was,” Douglass said. “And just be a leader and knock down shots. Kind of the same as last year, but just a little bit more.

“I don’t even know how to define it.”

NOTE: Fans who bring two canned foods to Michigan's game Friday against Houston Baptist (7 p.m., Big Ten Network) will be admitted for $1. Also, if you show your Michigan-Ohio State game ticket, you can get into Friday's game for a buck. Both promotions are being held out of Gate A in Crisler Arena.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein