The mind reels.

Every so often, an athlete for whom “normal” opposition simply doesn’t apply emerges.  They step into the field of play and the other team just sort of throws up their hands and…well, not exactly gives up, but accepts the fact that they simply won’t be able to both stop the player and win the game.  The first thing that comes to mind is Hack-A-Shaq.  Shaquille O’Neal at his height was as unstoppable a force as there ever was, but he had one huge weakness, and everybody (including Shaq) knew what it was.  Evil Wizard Don Nelson, confronted with the fact that he had to try to stop Shaq with Shawn Bradley and Hot Rod Williams, adjusted a strategy originally used on Wilt Chamberlain (also a legendarily bad free throw shooter) and started bear-hugging late in close games.  Well, Nelson didn’t – he was the coach, and that would have been bad form – but you get the idea.  And it never “worked” in the conventional sense, but it did throw Shaq off enough to make things interesting.

Obviously, I bring this up as a preface to discuss one Naz Hillmon.  Naz has been a dynamic, productive player since she set foot on campus, and went into this season as a co-preseason B1G player of the year and All-American candidate.  Expectations were sky high…and she’s exceeded them, to an almost absurd degree.  It’s been fascinating to watch the last two games in particular, as they represent two almost completely opposite approaches to defending someone who has taken The Leap; two coaches have thrown up their arms and said, “hell, I don’t know, let’s try something crazy.”

Wisconsin coach Jonathan Tsipis, with an undertalented roster and seeing a Michigan team without Leigha Brown (who had lit them for 26 in their first meeting), thought, “okay they’re down a scorer.  Let’s try to take Hillmon out of the game and see if the others can beat us.”  Narrator voice, “the others beat him.”  Presented with an almost-insane level of double- and triple-teaming for the entire game, Naz either dished to an endless procession of cutters and wide-open shooters, or watched as the double- and triple-teams created huge swaths of the open floor without her even touching the ball.  The ladies won by 29, as Tsipis categorically refused to change his approach, no matter how many open threes Maddie Nolan rained down on his head.

Ohio State coach / Ryan Day lookalike (it’s kind scary) Kevin McGuff saw that and took an almost exactly opposite approach. A dramatic reading:

McGuff:  “Wow, Wisconsin focused their entire defense on Hillmon, and they got killed.  How’s about we just pretend she’s a ‘typical’ forward and see what happens. You – what’s your name?”

Rebeka Mikulasikova looks up, afraid.  “Um, me?”

McGuff: “Yeah you.  The Slovakian girl.  You’re tall. You get Hillmon.”

Mikulasikova has obviously eaten something unpleasant: “Um, by myself? Without help?”

McGuff: “Yup.  Good luck!”

It didn’t go well.  Naz Hillmon had one of the greatest single-game performances I have ever seen, putting up 50.  FITTY.  With 15 rebounds, 10 on the offensive end.  BTN tweeted a careers’ worth of inside moves from just this game; layups in transition, spins, reverses, straight bull rushes, a baby hook we’ve never seen before, putbacks, all with both hands.  Just dizzying.

Naz Hillmon had a career performance scoring 50 of @umichwbball's 77 points in the 81-77 loss to Ohio State.

Relive every @nazhillmon field goal made today right here. pic.twitter.com/72v24BHIwe

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 21, 2021

(Apologies if that doesn't imbed the tweet, as I have no idea what I'm doing with your twitterss and facebooks and interwebz)

And yet.

And yet, McGuff's strategy worked, after a fashion.  Yes, Naz got hers, but the team’s inconsistent outside shooting – an ongoing concern since the loss of Leigha Brown and papered over by Maddie Nolan’s lights-out night against Wisconsin – finally cost them.  Amy Dilk made a three on the team’s second attempt, and made the team’s ninth attempt, with 3:58 left in the second quarter, but that was it.  2 for 20. 0 for 11 in the second half.  These weren’t rattling in and out, either.  I counted at least three airballs.  There are a couple of players on this team that, if they’re not going to make three-point shooting contest, are at least capable.  Not tonight.  Everybody looked lousy.

KBA tried stuff, too – she went small-ball, gave Elise Stuck and Michelle Sidor some run (they went ohfer, like everybody else), yanked Amy for long second-half stretches.  Finally KBA, like opposing coaches, just threw up her hands and said, “fine, give it to Naz.”

It almost worked.

But it didn’t, finally.  Down two with 10 seconds left, they went to the well once too often; off an inbounds, AK tried to go crosscourt to Maddie Nolan, presumably to set up Naz in the low block as they’d done one possession earlier.  But the inbounds was just a bit too high to handle and caromed out of bounds.  Game over, and the greatest performance in Michigan women’s hoops history went by the wayside.

Strangely, once again, I’m left deflated but optimistic.  Obviously, Naz can’t put up 50 every night (duh), but this team can’t go 2 of 20 from three, either.  Ohio State is an outstanding, veteran, tournament-ready team that can’t play in the tournament, and despite being in control most of the night needed an errant inbounds and lousy shooting by Michigan to steal this one at home.

The greatest season in program history remains a possibility.

Basketbullets:

• The inbounds turnover was not the first time the ladies had trouble in that department.  I think that was the only actual turnover, but they seemed to struggle with it all night; I shouted “move!” at my screen on several occasions.  I don’t recall this being an ongoing issue, but it will be worth keeping an eye on it..
• Two stretches of spectacular defense kept the ladies in this game – at 35-21 at the 4-minute mark in the second quarter, they only allowed a single basket the rest of the way to get to 37-33 at the half.  Then, down 63-47 with 2 minutes left in the third, they would only allow three baskets for the rest of the game.  a contested jumper by Braxtin Miller, a heinous back-door that Amy Dilk slept on, and an wing three in a transition situation.  No easy buckets were to be had.
• Amy Dilk did get pulled for a extended stretches; it will be interesting to see if that was a one-game thing where KBA was trying anything at all to generate offense, or if it’s something else.  She wasn’t making shots, but neither was anyone else.  Michelle Sidor replaced her for one stretch and was immediately firing, so I have a feeling this was just a “hey, you – go out there and try to get hot” thing.
• Hailey Brown spent most of her night defending Dorka Juhasz and was terrific, holding her to 14, but offensively?  Yikes.  2 of 10 from the field puts her at…9 of 42 (37%) over her last four games.  I should note that I’m surprised it’s that high, from what I’ve seen lately.  I really hate to keep dinging her for her shooting, because I like her a lot as a player.  She’s does a lot of things well, but they’ve really needed her to hit some shots, and she hasn’t done it.  She looks off.
• AK was literally the only other offensive threat; she has an ability to get around the corner and get to the basket, and she did in a couple of critical situations.  The challenge is that the lane always has Naz Hillmon in it, so it’s always in traffic - it might behoove the team for Naz to clear out of the lane once in a while to open things up.  Wait, what did I just say?  Ignore me, I'm an idiot.

Literally every item above is affected by the continued absence of Leigha Brown.  Remember the 2019-20 mens’ team that scuffled when Isaiah Livers was ailing?  Same thing.  I believe that tonight was the first time she’d been on the bench, which makes me think (hope) she’s nearing a return.  Cross those fingers – that the ladies almost picked off this game without her?  Bring it on.