WBB Hello: Naz Hillmon (2018), ranked #12

Submitted by Raoul on

Yet another commitment for the women's basketball team, the fourth in a little more than three weeks. The biggest remaining need in the 2018 class was a center, and that need is now filled with Naz Hillmon's pledge. She a 6-2 post player out of Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio (suburb of Cleveland).

She's not currently ranked by espnW, but Blue Star has her at #12 in the nation. That might be a bit on the high side, but she did garner an impressive list of offers, according to various reports: Cal, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Pitt, Purdue, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and West Virginia.

Here's a Blue Star scouting report on Hillmon from a few months ago:

Continues to impress the college coaches with each outing…Size, strength, skills and great hands…Posts hard in the half court and runs the floor well in transition…Scores with a variety of moves and crashes the boards…Highly regarded impact BCS player

Hillmon joins two point guards, Amy Dilk and Danielle Rauch, and a wing, Ariel Young, in Michigan's 2018 class.

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July 4th, 2017 at 5:38 PM ^

I have no doubt that she's a great player and will be a valuable asset. But at 6'2", it's hard to see her as a Big Ten post player. Hallie Thome is 6'5" and there are plenty of opponents as tall and stronger than her.

Joined: 09/14/2016

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Mark46

July 5th, 2017 at 7:11 PM ^

LOL, I've been to almost all the the home WBB games for the last 20 years.  It's pretty easy to demonstrate that your greatly overstating the case.

OSU tallest two players last year were 6-3, one averged 11.4 ppg and the other 4.8 ppg and both graduated. Their team was decimated by transfers and their biggest player will be 6-2 who averaged 3 ppg.

Indiana had one starter, Jenn Anderson, who was 6-3 and she averaged 9.1 and 5.4 rebounds. She's graduated now and no one else was over 6-2.

Purdue had 6-6 girl who started 0 games and averaged 1.6 ppg. and a 6-4 transfer coming in from Gulf  Coast State who sat out last year with injury and averaged 3'3 ppg as a freshman.. After that they will have one 6-2 girl on the roster.

For Maryland Brionna Jones was a legit star but she was a 6-3 center, hardly towering over a 6-2 player--and she's graduated.

For Nebraska Jessica Shepard fits your mold at 6-4 and tore Hallie Thome up two years ago with over 30 pts and 20 rebounds. Last year for us 5-11 Jillian Dunstin held her to 4 pts and now she's transferred for her last two years.

And so on throughout the Big Ten.  If  you think you can just look a roster, see a junior recruit is 6-2, then immediately conclude she can't play center in the Big 10 is delusional.  In the film I saw she looked pretty damn strong to me.  But lots of 6-2 centers can give 6-4 centers fits and I hope she's one of them.

Goree may have been listed at 6-3, but I'm 6-2 and talked to her eyeball to eyeball and I was at least an inch taller and she could play even up with Minnesota's 6-5 Amanda Zahui B.

I'm eagerly awaiting your expert analysis that a 5-10 guard can't possibly keep up with a 5-7 guard.

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