An Ode To Michigan
To what was the Big Ten's final team standing, and deservedly so
Yes, the Big Ten went 1-4 this past weekend and did not make it to the Final Four, but it was not a downer weekend. Three of the four lost to Final Four teams, and the other, Ohio State, fought Texas wire to wire and had a chance to send it to overtime in its final possession.
This weekend only solidified that this conference is one of the country’s best, even if it doesn’t quite have a transcendent powerhouse like the four teams that still remain.
Next week will be more of a recap on the entirety of the Big Ten’s 2021-22 season, but for now, I want to focus on the team that made it the furthest, and the one that was never supposed to be here a decade ago.
Michigan has been in the Big Ten since the 1981-82 season. From 1981-82 through the 2011-12 campaign, a span of 30 years, the Wolverines went to five NCAA Tournaments, won two NCAA Tournament games and had at least 20 wins just four times. They finished with at least 20 losses 11 times.
Enter Kim Barnes Arico. Since she has taken over as Michigan head coach, the team has won at least 20 games in every single season minus the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, where the Wolverines played just 22 games (and went 16-6).
It’s been an unprecedented run for Barnes Arico and this program that does not appear to be slowing down in the near future. But this year, and this team, was special.
Five of the Wolverines key rotation players were seniors, and their experiences on the court ranged from consistent start to benchwarmer heading into the season.
None of that mattered.
Danielle Rauch had 86 points across 65 games to her name. Emily Kiser had never started a game and had just 163 points across 64 games. And yet here they are, both starters in all 32 of Michigan’s contests, and both solid contributors to a team that made the first Elite Eight in program history.
Of course, there’s also Naz Hillmon who, as Rauch said above, is the greatest player in Michigan women’s basketball history. Her 2,183 points is second all-time to Katelynn Flaherty, while her 1,060 rebounds is second to absolutely no one, breaking Trish Andrew’s record by 132.
She is a four-time All-Big Ten honoree, a conference Player of the Year and a national All-American. As a player, her talent was a delight to watch.
Hillmon is just 6-2, but has a stronger interior presence than almost anyone I’ve ever seen. She is relentless in finding the smallest gaps in the coverage, has unbelievable post moves, is one of the better passers at forward in the country and is a brick wall on defense. There’s a chance she returns thanks to a free year of eligibility, but any WNBA team on Earth should want this player if they are smart.
Naz Hillmon is one of a kind.
Let’s talk a little bit about the games that just happened, shall we?
Michigan was the only team who found a win this weekend, narrowly edging out a feisty South Dakota team that’s whole plan was to stop Hillmon from getting the ball or, if she did get the ball, to put every player plus a few coaches and fans on her inside to make sure someone else would beat them.
Hillmon finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Despite that, this game stayed close because Michigan’s shots simply were not falling. The Wolverines, on mostly very good looks, shot just 3 of 17 from three. The saving grace was true freshman Laila Phelia, who had 14 key points, many of which came early to keep Michigan in the contest.
What did not come early, though, was this ice cold bucket by Phelia on a broken play that ended up being the difference.
If Hillmon is gone, and if many of the other seniors — Kiser, Rauch, Leigha Brown and Amy Dilk — join her, Phelia will have to be the star, and she’s certainly proven capable.
Following that victory, the Wolverines were tasked with battling top-seeded Louisville, a team that absolutely decimated Michigan early in the season. That did not happen this time around.
Again, Michigan struggled from three (3 of 14). The Wolverines also caught the turnover bug with 22 errors on the night. Michigan also let guard Hailey Van Lith keep her red-hot tournament going with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
And yet, there Michigan was, down just 2 at the under-5 timeout in the fourth quarter. But a key injury to Brown kept her out of the game the rest of the quarter, and the Wolverines never scored again.
Louisville did score, 10 points to be exact, and Michigan’s run was over with a harsh 62-50 final. Do the Wolverines win if Brown, who had 3 points in 20 minutes, was in? I’m not ready to say that, but I think that offense finds some buckets and the final score looks an awful lot closer.
Still, make no mistake, Michigan battled Louisville for the majority of this game, and looked 100 percent like it belonged.
This team under Barnes Arico has been an absolute delight to watch. When it’s firing on all cylinders, the ball movement, the motion, the usage of Hillmon as both a scorer and facilitator, it’s beautiful. The defense, which does not give an inch and has this lovely little double team action, is a delight.
There was so much to love about this group of veterans that had either star power or boatloads of experience and leadership to bring to the table. It was the perfect team to be the final representation of Big Ten women’s basketball.
Michigan women’s basketball was an afterthought for decades. Now, it has made the program’s first Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in back-to-back years. Even if there’s a rebuild underway in Ann Arbor after this special senior class departs, there’s no reason to expect that the Wolverines won’t be right back in this position very soon.
So thank you Michigan, and thank you to the Big Ten on a delightful season. I’ll be back to talk about it all next Monday.
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