An Elegy.

National Signing Day is a day of optimism on most college campuses, and Crisler Center on November 8 2017 was no exception.  The ladies already seemed to be on the up - they were seven months removed from an NIT championship (in triple overtime, over Georgia Tech) and returned just about everyone, including the future all-time program scoring champion, Katelynn Flaherty, and fellow first-team All-B1G center Hallie Thome.

Still, those players had been present during the 2016-17 season, and it was a disappointment that the ladies had ended up in the NIT in the first place.  Kim Barnes Arico had undeniably raised the talent level, but the team had yet to take The Leap, seemingly destined to stay on the bubble or not far above it.

KBA touted the five-player class (one of whom, Ariel Young, would transfer after a disappointing freshman season) that would arrive the following fall as “one of the best classes we’ve had since I’ve been here,” and resume coaching the 2017-18 team that would end up sixth in the B1G and get drubbed by Baylor in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Leap would have to wait a bit longer.

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Danielle Rauch was a tremendous high school player, but probably the least-heralded player in the group.  She came in as a 5’-8” three-star and sat for 2 1/2 years that were primarily distinguished by being the bench mob leader and invariably the first player off the bench to greet the team coming off the floor at timeouts.  It was hard - Amy Dilk was the clear starter, and, while Danielle definitely had a good handle, and could shoot some, the minutes were hard to come by.

So she waited.

Her first crack at extended minutes came late in 2020, when Kayla Robbins suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-January.  She’d get the next three starts, and play passably well, but then she broke her wrist (or was it her hand?) and miss a month before returning for limited minutes in the B1G tournament.  In her place, Maddie Nolan had a breakout tournament, and it seemed her moment had passed.  She’d essentially go back to the backup role until Amy Dilk’s absence for the 2021 NCAA tournament would send her back to the starting lineup.  She took advantage, playing superbly in three games and grabbing the point guard job by the throat.

She was elected team captain for this season, and it turned out to be no mere honorific, as she has started every game and leads the team in minutes.  She’ll get All-B1G votes, which is a pretty remarkable achievement for a someone who never really got major minutes until the last few games of her junior season.  KBA calls her her “mini me.”

More than anything, she’s a testament to busting your ass and waiting for your chance.  It’s easy to think that in 2022-23 her minutes will picked up by someone slightly more talented; maybe a better scorer, a better defender against super-quick point guards, slightly less turnover-prone.  But man, she’s been a badass this season. She’ll be missed.  A lot.

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Emily Kiser (ranked the #78 recruit in the country coming in) had to wait, too. 

I sat right behind the bench at the 2020 B1G tournament; it turned out I was right behind Emily’s family.  At that moment, she hadn’t played much, and while she was completely engaged, there were a couple of moments where she’d make smiling, “can you believe this?” eye contact with her family.  It was kinda delightful.  They knew minutes were going to be hard to come by, playing behind Naz Hillmon and Hailey Brown and Akienreh Johnson and (at the time) Izabel Varejao.  She played a total of five minutes in that tournament

So she waited, for the better part of three years. 

Hailey Brown started every single game she was healthy for from the moment she arrived on campus, playing excellent defense and leading the team in 3-point attempts.  She was a superb complement to Naz Hillmon as a face-up four drawing defenses out just enough to give Naz room to work  With her graduation, KBA suggested that Emily Kiser would step in to a similar role.  I was…well, I'd be lying to suggest I had no misgivings.  She'd seemed like a good player, but it was going to be a huge bump in minutes and responsbilities.

I mean, she’d been, you know, waiting.

I shouldn’t have worried, as she’s been a durable, terrific, consistent contributor in starting every game. She wasn’t an exact replacement to Hailey Brown, but she brought other stuff to the table.  She turned out to be a terrific inside defender and active rebounder, and she showed off a surprising variety of low- and mid-post moves, as well as a nice mid-range jumper.  Teams tend to collapse inside on Naz, obviously, but Emily has made them pay for it all season long.

She’s going to get All-B1G votes, and I sure didn’t see that coming.  Yet another testament to the value of busting your ass and sticking around.

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Amy Dilk (the #40 recruit in the country per ESPN) was possibly the most-heralded recruit of the class coming in.  She was Indiana’s Miss Basketball, an all-court scorer, rebounder and distributor.  Her height allowed her to see over the top, her length made her an excellent defender on the wing, she had a great handle…it was all there.  Waiting.

She started from her first moment on campus, and while her freshman season was typical inconsistent freshman point guard fare, you could see the game slowing down for her.  Her sophomore season was a classic progression.  She could take over games on occasion and she seemed to be a perfect outside complement to the inside presence of Naz.  Her numbers improved across the board.  Going into her junior year, i wrote that I expected her to be a first-team All-B1G player, and if she cut her turnovers and became a more aggressive scorer she could eventually be a fringe All-American candidate.

She didn’t.

She did cut her turnovers a bit, but all her other numbers (including minutes) took a downturn, to the point where she lost her starting spot for a couple games midseason.  Then she missed the NCAA tournament with medical issues.  It was something of a lost season.

She was still the starting point guard going into 2021-22, but only lasted 42 seconds into the opener, when she went down with a nasty-looking knee injury.  She’d miss two months, and by the time she returned she was coming in off the bench as she worked her way back into shape.  She hasn’t started since, although she’s been a consistent contributor and an improved wing defender.

She’s been an important part of the program’s rise for the last four years, and, while she’s been a sometimes-frustrating player, the talent is undeniable.  I have no idea how the ‘COVID year’ stuff works - I’d love to see her come back for one more year to see her as a mature player, at full strength.

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It’s become hard to write anything interesting about the #58-ranked recruit in the 2018 class, Naz Hillmon.

She didn’t start that first night, an 88-40 blowout of Mt St Mary’s.  Hallie Thome was the clear starter inside, a returning senior coming off her second first-team All-B1G season after averaging 17 and 7.  Naz would sub in at the first media timeout, and immediately take a spot as the knife edge in a terrifying 1-2-2 full-court press.  She’d commit two fouls, turn it over, and get a layup in four electric minutes.  I’d text my girlfriend – “I don’t know who this Naz Hillmon” is, but I can’t take my eyes off her.”  She’d finish with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, and 3 steals.  She wasn’t the best player on the court that night, and wouldn’t be, at least right away, but it really was clear, at least to me – whatever “it” was, Naz Hillmon had it.  I wondered if, as her role expanded, she’d be able to continue being the spazzy full-court press maniac, but I didn’t really care.  She became my favorite player, almost immediately.

There were a few bumps coming, but not many.  She’d struggle against elite teams, fouling out after 14 inconsequential minutes against NC State.  She looked overwhelmed in the first Maryland game.  Louisville completely throttled her in a second-round blowout in the tournament.  But she was a force most nights, cutting into Hallie Thome’s minutes and ending up first-team All-B1G, B1G sixth player of the year (she’d never start), and B1G freshman of the year.

All of which is very nice.  She’s a great, great player, and has been justifiably recognized for that.

But my favorite parts of the Naz Hillmon Era are twofold.  First, that spazzy hustle I saw that first night, my first night as a season-ticket holder, never went away, for a single second.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a player go 100%, every single minute that they were on the court.  I’ve never seen her take a possession off, on either end.  When your best player is also clearly the hardest worker?  Send me some of that.

Secondly, she’s been an unabashed vocal leader on the court – no quiet stoicism here – and, happily, off it.  I remember KBA talking about Nicole Munger as having grown into an incredibly impressive woman during her time in Ann Arbor, and the same can be said of Naz Hillmon.  She’s used her voice to loudly and firmly advocate for causes she cares about. 

And she never, ever fails to recognize her team and teammates accomplishments first.  I don’t know if she’ll be a great WNBA player – truth to tell, she’s a bit undersized and needs work on her jump shot – but he’s going to be a huge success no matter what she ends up doing.  I’m almost more interested in that part than I am in any pro career she might have. 

Is she the best player in program history?  Probably, if national accolades and WNBA draft evaluations are any indication.  Katelynn Flaherty was KBA’s first great player and got some bits of national attention.  Naz has been better.  Is she the most important player in program history?  Clearly.

I’m going to miss watching her as a player, but I’ll miss watching her as a leader, too.

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So there it is.  Four seniors, the core of the best four-year stretch in program history.  These four will likely play on the Crisler court at least one more time after tonight, but Thursday should be a special night.  If you’re in the area?  Go.  If you have to drive a couple hours? Fire it up.  These women deserve the ovations.